Devil Attraction
by angelarms
Summary: COMPLETE! - Post DMC3 DantexLady - rated for slight adult content later. Keeping her heart hidden from the white-haired demon hunter is proving a little more difficult than Lady first realised. Fluff alert!
1. Phone Call

A/N

Well I've been browsing through the "Devil May Cry" section for the last couple of days and was sad to see hardly any fics witha Dante/Lady pairing so I decided to write my own. This takes place after the 3rd game. I hope you enjoy it and I welcome reviews no matter how small.

The rating may or may not go up depending on certain...adult situations later on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry 3 (obviously) and as always this is written for fan purposes only.

* * *

The sound of a phone ringing echoed throughout the empty room, its cold and harsh sound tearing through the peace and tranquillity of the urban building. The walls reverberated with a hollow note and from one window thin tendrils of light snaked into the room through gaps in the broken shutter. A swirl of dust could be seen highlighted by the pale sunshine as it whirled about the room and on the wall the sound of a clock ticking could be heard faintly as background noise. 

The walls were bare plaster except for where posters scattered one side and opposite the main entrance an old wooden desk stood on wobbly legs, on its surface was the phone which was trembling with each piercing sound and a pile of empty pizza boxes.

"Alright, alright give me a chance." A voice muttered from somewhere outside the room and a door hidden by shadows at the far side of the area was knocked open, the creak of hinges echoing briefly. Heavy boots stamped along the floor, dust swirling around them as the tall and lean figure made its way across the room. Pausing beside the phone a pair of cool but vivid eyes watched the phone, daring it to ring again with that stony gaze. Apparently the phone was courageous.

He cursed, thumping one fist against the wooden tabletop causing the receiver to jump up and with his free hand he caught it mid-air, raising it to his ear with a fluid motion.

"We're closed try again tomorrow." He said, tone gruff and filled with irritation.

"Don't you DARE put the phone down!" A fuming voice erupted from the other side almost deafening him. He put a little more space between the phone and his ear before sighing, was this girl never going to give him a break?

"Listen, it's Sunday. I'm tired. No work. No using of the phone." He spoke deliberately slowly hoping that somehow she would get the message and leave him alone for once, was it so much to ask?

"Please don't tell me you've forgotten what day it is!"

"Sunday, didn't I already mention that?"

"DANTE! It's Monday you idiot now get your arse over here right now or god help me I'll come over there and introduce you to a friend of mine!"

"Is she single?"

The phone went dead, a single note droning on and on.

With a sigh he replaced the receiver and flopped back, body collapsing in the black chair that stood behind the desk. From here he had a good view of the main entrance and of the grey clouds he could see in one of the windows that was free from a shutter. It looked like it was promising to be yet another miserable day in this even more miserable city. He also had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be introduced to a bouncy blonde but rather abullet to the face. That wasn't going to be something he was looking forward to.

She was a pain...

She disliked him...

So why were they still keeping contact?

It was a question that the silver haired demon often asked himself when he was staring into her cold and usually anger-filled face or listening to her as she cursed and yelled at him for doing something idiotic. Perhaps in some perverse way he enjoyed being kept on track by the woman. A grin slid across his finely featured face, yes it was highly amusing to get her aggravated, it was just a shame it was so easy to do. Now if only he could get her to relax and act a little more normal, perhaps that was the challenge he had been searching for. He could take out demons with a simple push of a trigger or swing of a blade, but to make the Lady smile...that would be hard!

With a sigh he leaned back in the chair further, making adequate room to swing his legs up to rest upon the desk. He really needed a calendar or something to help him keep a record on what day it was, he had completely forgotten about the job he had promised to do involving some strange goings on in the poorest part of the city. Why Lady insisted on going with him however was anyone's guess, he hadn't heard whether any demons were there and it wasn't like her to come along on a job that seemed more like a joke than anything. It didn't matter to him, this joke paid.

He rocked himself once again inthe chair, listening as the legs creaked from the strain and then suddenly he felt himself falling back. With quick precision he pulled his legs up and flipped over backwards coming to land neatly on the back of the chair which had fallen onto the ground with a loud clatter. One of these days it was going to break and then he would be stuck sitting about on the floor.

"I guess that's my cue to leave." He spoke aloud before reaching over and grabbing his crimson coat from its hanger. The lengthy garment had recently been mended, bullet holes and numerous tears sewn up so that it looked almost brand new. He slipped into it casually, shrugging it into place before checking that his pistols had been reloaded and that his sword was strapped into place on his back. It wouldn't take him long to reach his destination and it also wouldn't do any harm for the girl to wait by herself and cool down for a bit. Then with exaggerated slow steps he strode to the door, pushing it open and stepping out into the cold morning. There was a strange humidity in the air and a metallic colour in the clouds that seemed to promise storms and yet his breath caught in the air bringing to life the chill that also flowed between the buildings. What a wonderful day to splatter the innards of demons across the ground!

Part of Dante wanted to find some demons to kill, it was a great way to deal with stress and tension as well as keep him fit, but he also hoped that this would prove to be nothing but a hoax so that he could go home and stay there for the rest of the day, he wasn't in the mood to be messed about with today...

* * *

"Well it's about time, I see you didn't rush to get here." The young woman eyed him angrily, mismatched eyes narrowing and darkening with the beginnings of a lecture. Already the skies above them had darkened and rolled in to block the sunlight and cast them into shadow, Lady was standing on the stoop of an abandoned building, her slender form leaning against a rotting wooden beam that helped hold up the small triangular roof above her head. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest , trim but curvy legs as always disappearing into bright red boots and short locks of dark brown hair framed a somewhat elegant yet annoyed face.

"Thanks for waiting babe." The silver-haired demon grinned, approaching her with hands jammed in pockets and a shimmering of amusement lingering in his cool eyes. Too easy.

"Don't you'babe' me, we have a job to do or had you forgotten that?"

"I think you're forgetting something Lady."

"What's that?"

"I'm Dante the almighty and unbeatable, no demon is going to be so tough it'll keep me busy all day. One shot." He raised one pistol and pretended to aim it at an imaginary demon's head. "Bang! They disappear in a puff of smoke and it seems I'm the victor once more."

"You're ego never ceases to amaze me." She snarled raising her own pistol and squeezing the trigger. In less than a second the small bullet had skimmed the space just above Dante's shoulder.

"Hey watch it! I only just got this coat mended."

"Shut up!" She yelled, gritting her teeth together as she strode purposefully past him.

"You won't be saying that when I send you the bill!" Or maybe she would...with a shrug he tilted his head up to the sky, a rumble of thunder echoing from the belly of the darkening clouds, it probably wouldn't be long before it started raining.

With a sigh the devil broke into a run, the sound of his boots echoing around the empty street as he went, slowing down as he reached her he raised his hands and held them up behind his head.

"So, did you miss me?" He asked through a grin, glancing down at the woman through the corner of his eyes. Her face was set in a stern expression but somehow it seemed less strong than usual, as if she was tired.

"Did you miss me?" She growled through her teeth, answering with another question.

"No not really." He shrugged, eyes scanning the area ahead.

"The feeling is mutual." She replied, quickening her pace as she spoke. As usual the Kalina Ann was slung across her back, belts of ammunition hanging from pockets and pistols jammed in their holsters that draped from her hips. Her white blouse with its short sleeves that flared out at the elbows was not tight enough to be revealing but perfect enough to hint at the slender form hidden beneath. She was perhaps not the prettiest girl that Dante had ever laid eyes on but there was something else that made her quite captivating. Perhaps it was her 'never give up' attitude that made her so charming. It was a shame that she happened to be a right annoying bitch otherwise the demon may have made a move on her by now.

"Oh well, a guy can't have everything." He mumbled to himself, tilting his head up just as the clouds above decided to burst open. A torrent of rain hit them full force, lancing from the sky like blades and hitting the ground so hard it bounced upwards before finally settling. It pattered noisily against the floor and the buildings, a roaring sound that consumed them both and soaked them within minutes.

It wasn't long before both Lady and Dante had broken into a run, water streaming down their faces as they made for one of the back street alleys where the buildings overhung and created a shelter from the storm. They paused here, Lady clutching at her knees as she caught her breath before slumping against the wall beside the demon.

"This is all your fault." She muttered sourly, brows knitting together in a frown.

"What? Hey babe even I can't control the weather."

"If you had gotten here when I told you then we probably would have been finished by now!"

"Well what gets me is why you're here anyway, it's pretty obvious that there are no demons about."

"Not counting you of course!"

"Whatever, You're a real party killer, you know that?"

She whirled around to face him, short dark hair clinging to her face, rain beading on herlong eyelashes and dripping down the curve of her cheek. Her contrasting eyes narrowed slightly as she glared up at him, one hand hovering above the holster, fingers twitching as she tried to decide whether to waste a bullet on this pathetic demon or not.

"You know as well as I do that this could be a serious situation, I came here today because I knew you'd muck this up with your cocky attitude. Now if you don't shut your mouth I'll put a bullet through your head."

"Again? Remember the last time you did that Lady?" He indicated his forehead and laughed, "that method doesn't seem to work."

"But it'll sure make me feel better." She snapped, "that's it, I think you should just go home and leave this to me."

"Oh really." He quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that, I can handle it! I've faced much worse than this before I even met you." She whirled round on her bright red heels and started out of the alley.

A distant sound rippled through the air, the distant call of a strange tortured beast...a demon.

Whirling forwards with inhuman speed the half breed raced up behind Lady, one arm winding around her waist and the other snaking up to clamp around her mouth as he dragged her back into the shadows of the alley. Whatever it was out there it sounded angry and there were a lot more of them where that came from. Not that the Dante was scared...he was just curious. He had never heard a sound quite like that before.

The girl in his arms wriggled furiously to get free, both hands tugging to free his fingers from her mouth and her legs kicking wildly at his legs from where he had lifted her from her feet. He growled and backed up further, stumbling as she landed a hefty kick to his knee and knocking back into the wall.

"Will you quit it!" He hissed into her ear, snatching his hand away as she sank her teeth into his finger.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" She growled, her face heating up with rage and embarrassment. Now that she had stopped squirming she could fully appreciate the warmth and strength of his arms wrapped around her midsection and his deep masculine scent that invaded her sense of smell. The muscular chest that she was held pressed against was solid and strong, the ripple of well-toned muscles sending a shiver down her spine.

"Be quiet will you." He growled, "do you trust me?" He questioned, a sincere look in his silvery eyes.

"What are you --"

"We're going to throw them a surprise party." He grinned and the arms that remained around her waist tightened as he crouched down a little.

"No, wait!" But any objection she had came too late as he leapt skywards with her held tightly in his arms so that escape was impossible.

Tiles cracked beneath his feet as he landed on the gently sloping roof the rain hammering noisily against them covering the sound as he lowered Lady to her feet andcrouched downhimself so he remained out of view. The girl dropped down beside him and angled her head a touch in his direction. "When this is over I swear I'll kill you, you bastard." She growled angrily.

"Well aren't you feisty today." His grin widened and he winked at her before moving off slowly across the roof, soaked stands of silver hair falling across his face as he went.

Lady hesitated for a moment, eyes tracing the lines of his broad shoulders that were tucked away beneath the leather of his red coat which had an incredible glossy sheen in the rain. Lightning forked downwards from the sky - jagged white-hot fingers lancing in all directions, a brilliant flash against the dark. The beautiful, natural phenomenon was accompanied with a vicious crackling that sent a tremble of fear down to settle in her gut. The sky seemed exceptionally cruel today.

With a shake of her head to clear it of any thoughts she followed after the devil, trying to move as swiftly as possible without slipping on the wet tiles and falling to the ground below. She paused just behind Dante, taking careful note of his hand signal, a sign to keep quiet. They had been on quiet a few demon-slaying missions together since the mishap involving her father but they had never been like this. The girl feared nothing especially now that Dante had helped her get revenge for her mother's death but for some reason nerves fluttered through her. Was this some kind of a indication that this was not going to turn out another normal day?

Even from here she could see the collection of demons that had gathered around a battered old statue of a warrior that had been situated in the centre of the town. Their strange aluminous green eyes piercing the gloom and large jaws opening and closing in silent speech revealing piercing fangs. Their skeletal like forms moved with surprising agility and many of them held strange weapons in long, claw-like fingers. There were so many of them that it made her dizzy to watch the moving mass of demon bodies, dark cloaks flapping and merging, waves of eyes glowing in the shadows. How many were there exactly? One hundred? Two maybe? She shuddered and lowered her hand, gripping the handle of a dagger thathung from a belt loop

"Oh this is going to be fun." Dante smirked from his position just ahead, turning back to glance at Lady. A frown briefly settling on his pale face. "what's wrong?" he sneered, "ya scared?"

"Don't be stupid, I never get scared!"

"Never?"

"Never!" She confirmed through gritted teeth. It was strange how at one hand she could consider this man her hero, a saviour...her friend, and then on another he could be her worst enemy. No one had ever been able to rile her as much as this hybrid and it made her almostsick with rage.

"Well then, are you ready?" The demon asked and she locked eyes with him for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Of course."

"Alright! It's party time!" He yelled, the flap of a leather coat rising up above the rain, and across the way hundreds of glowing eyes turned to face them.

* * *

to be continued... 


	2. Party Time

Disclaimer: Devil May Cry is not mine, it is copywrite to Capcom. This has been written for fan purposes only.

A/N

Wow there is no way I ever expected to get that many reviews! I love you all! Okay I tried to write this as fast as possible because I didn't want to keep you waiting but I'm not sure when chapter 3 will be able to be released since I'm really caught up in college work at the moment. However I doubt it will be too long, perhaps just a bit longer than what this one took.

Anyway now to thank all you kind reviewers:

Sasha - I'm really glad you enjoyed it and I totally agree, there needs to be more DxL

Kiki0303 - Thanks for your review, I'm glad you liked how I portrayed the characters, that's one of the things I was most worried about doing wrong, and yay glad to meet another fan of this pairing.

XXXkIkGkEnxXx - thanks for your review, this pairing hit me as being really interesting when I played the game too.

DKFighter - thanks for your review, oh just a random comment, when I type your pen name on word it keeps correcting it as: Knighted...go figure !

Hermisia - ahh woah! Scary person with knife! -hides- here look, I wrote more!

Silentsurrender - here's the next chapter, I'm so glad you liked what I've got so far.

Jaded Rose - Your comments are really appreciated, I'm glad you liked how I wrote their personalities.

Kaja86 - Yup here's the next chapter and it would be so cool if you could write your own, I'll definitely be there to read and review!

anonymous, with fries - Thanks so much for your review, it really meant a lot to me. I enjoy getting feedback like this so that I can improve on the next chapter and so on. I'm not sure whether I've managed to improve on the parts you've said though since I read through it and it still seems a bit jumpy in places. It'll definitely be something I'll try to stop doing though.

* * *

Chapter 2 

The first thing that aroused the demon from his somewhat drowsy state were the battle cries of his minions as they caught sight of something that excited them. The roars waved from the outermost demons, flowing along the lines until they reached his position. He was settled at the far side of the once elegant town square, his dark form almost lost in the shadows which had been enhanced by the build up of black storm clouds. The electricity in the air excited the demon and his followers, the rain sliding over them as if they wore some sort of rain repellent on their shiny green skin. His eyes narrowed dangerously and finally the silentbeast shifted his great lanky form, reaching out to the statue with skeletal hands and pulling himself up onto it. For a moment he sat motionless and then he shifted once more, settling himself upon the great, bronze, outstretched arm of the warrior. His nostrils writhed and he inhaled noisily, the scent of human flowed on the air joined with another more strange scent that he found oddly enduring. The thrill of the hunt lashed through his body but for now he would wait and watch the events that were sure to unfold before his very eyes.

The female human was no threat he was sure. She looked a frail little thing and was slowed down by the large metal objects slung about her body. He licked his chapped, greenish lips with a forked tongue and smirked, the glint of fangs glistening in his slightly parted maw, this would indeed be amusing to watch. What place was there for a young human girl in a battle? Especially ones who were easily broken and torn. It would be fun to watch the fragile human body torn to pieces by his minions, the spray of blood as it joined the rain and turned the puddles crimson, the scent of death clouding this pathetic human settlement.

A perverse smile crossed his narrow face, veins visible beneath the green translucent skin revealing strange and pulsating organs working madly inside his bizarre body. His eyes fell upon the other attacker, a male who appeared human but at the same time demonic. His scent rang a familiar bell inside the demon's senses but for now he decided that it would be best to wait and see. No mere humans were strong enough to bring him and his army down!

For a moment his body flickered like a fading image on an old TV set, and then a few moments more his body shimmered from view. The demon had disappeared...

* * *

Dante swung his sword at the first wave of demons, decapitating the first with one hefty blow, a burst of grit and sand clouding into the air where the body had been just moments before. Its dying shriek shuddered briefly around before fading from existence and the devil tore forwards once more, flipping forwards over the next three demons that were coming for him andslicing them all across the back with yet another single swing. 

They erupted into shrieks of pain and rage, all of them whirling around to face their opponent. Two of them bore no weapons except for their heavily clawed hands which were only useful in close combat, but the other held a strange weapon. It glistened from its place on the demon's forearm and then shuddered into life, a strange pulsating glow emanating from round pores in its sides.

The silver-haired demon paused in his attack to glance at the strange weapon in interest, there was no fear shimmering in his eyes, but a curiosity of what it could possibly be. A second later however the monster was shrieking in pain, doubling over before fading into nothing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lady yelled, two smoking guns held firmly in her hands.

"Well that's a stupid question." He replied loudly, ducking beneath a clawed hand that swiped out in his direction, dropping to the ground and kicking out one leg to knock the demon from its feet. Another second later and the same demon was experiencing the pain of a sword to the face.

"You could at least thank me." Lady snapped, whirling around to a fire a round of bullets into yet another collection of dark cloaked beasts.

The rain seemed to increase its steady downpour, a great clap of thunder rolling overhead as the half-demon and human took down one after another. To their amazement however it seemed that their numbers never dwindled, never came to an end and it wasn't long before the pair had been surrounded, pressed back to back as they faced the onslaught together. Strange that two who fought so aggressively with one another could combine their strengths to become fluid, one motion that was capable of much greater heights.

"Okay demon, any ideas?" Lady sighed as she emptied yet another magazine and reached down to grab another, snapping it into the empty cartridge and continuing to shoot. The small kick of the doubleweapons were beginning to make her hands tremble slightly, trigger fingers beginning to ache even as she focused on a new enemy and sent a bullet through its ugly and elongated skull.

"Well as fun as this is, a party has to end sometime right?" He grinned, the sound of his own gunshots ringing through the air.

"I wish you would just shut up and act serious for once in your life!" Lady growled stepping away from him as she swung Kalina Ann from her back and shouldered it. "This should make a dent in their forces!" She screamed above yet another rumble of thunder. Her breath was suddenly ragged and hot in her lungs, misting before her as she exhaled. She gripped the powerful weapon and lowered her position, feet sliding against the dusty and wet ground as she strengthened her stance, ready to absorb the kick.

The effort of the missile being ejected from the launcher sent a shudder down her whole being and she watched as it soared through the air leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. The explosion was next to come, the shockwave rattling the teeth in her skull as she watched it consume everything in its fiery rage, a cloud of smoke wreathing the damage as the glow died down.

Lightning clawed its way once more through the sky, highlighting hundreds of pairs of aluminous eyes staring intently at them. It seemed as if they appeared from nowhere, their dark forms teleporting into battle and pointed fangs rippling with a demonic light.

Lady shuddered and clamped her teeth firmly on her bottom lip to try and calm her nerves, she hadn't felt like this for a long time and she couldn't help but wonder whether this time they had been a little foolish. They had stormed into battle without a thought about what skills their opponents might possess and now they were in too deep. She frowned and swung the Kalina Ann around to face yet more enemies and fired once more.

Blood trickled slowly down from her mouth, beads of fluid trembling down her chin and trailing lines down her pale neck. The soft flesh of her lip had been broken from thekick of the weaponand a steady throb emitted from the small wound, enough to dull her concentration.

"I think we should make a break for it!" She called out over the cries of the demons, turning her head to watch the silver-haired devil as he emptied yet another round into the flood of enraged beasts. She was never the type to leave a job unfinished but she was running out of ammunition fast and fatigue was beginning to gnaw at her.

"Run? I don't think so." He answered simply, turning the gun on her and shooting over her left shoulder. She closed her mismatched eyes tightly, the bullet whistling past her ear and worming its way into the unseen enemy that had manifested behind her. "You're bleeding." He said briefly, whirling back to face four smaller demons who had crawled up in an effort to take the red-coated man by surprise.

Lady frowned, reaching up to mop up the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, glad for the rain that helped wash it away. The floor beneath them was dotted with puddles and ash - all that was left of the hundreds of demons they had already slain. The rain eased in its thundering downpour, the pattering of the raindrops thudding gently against the cobbled street as the clouds began to race away across the sky. She herself was soaked through and through, the material of her blouse sticking to her skin in such a way that she was glad for the black t-shirt she wore beneath. Dark strands of hair hung limp against her face, water beading on her eyelashes and catching on her pale face. Her wise and yet slightly fatigued eyes fell upon the half-demon and she traced his somewhat elegant moves, his fighting style precise and to the point. At least when he was in battle he didn't beat around the bush, simply did the job needed and moved on. Rain hissed against his leather coat, bringing out a deep sheen reflected in the soft leather, water spraying up around him as he lowered his form and swiped his sword in a single movement. There was something almost beautiful about the way he moved, an elegance that reminded her of a dance, one that he had practised numerous times before.

A flash of lightning caught the deep blues and silvers in his eyes as he turned to glance at her, white hair flapping back to reveal his pale face. In that brief moment only one question came to her fuzzy mind; how could a demon look...like an angel? Then suddenly the look on his face changed, a hint of something that resembled fear in his usually tranquil eyes.

And then it happened...

His warning had come too late and a searing pain erupted in her right arm so fierce that she thought she was going to black-out. Stumbling forwards she lost a grip on the Kalina Ann and let it fall from her usually deft fingers, it clattered against the ground noisily and left her feeling somewhat vulnerable. With a small gasp of desperation Lady tilted her head to try and catch a glimpse of what had caught her.

Anger rose up to join in with the pain as she spotted the demon, its tremendous jaws latched around her arm, two golden fangs sinking deep into her vulnerable flesh. Blood bubbled up from the wound, streaming down her arm and dripping from her fingertips to splatter against the ground. Her vision blurred drastically but she simply pushed away the feeling, determined not to be brought down by one simple injury. She shook her head, ridding herself of the light-headedness - if only for a short while and tried to tug herself free. Suddenly the beast exploded into a cloud of dust, covering her with its ashy entrails causing her to stagger forwards, legs buckling and bringing her to her knees on the cold, wet ground.

Her vision doubled and then tripled, and she reached up to try and steady her head, resting a hand firmly against one temple. Any moment now the demons would attack her, their ugly claws slashing her body and tearing her to pieces...but as she knelt on the ground trying desperately to stay awake she suddenly become aware of how quiet it had become. Were they finally all dead?

Fate however gave her no more time to ponder on this. Lady had fallen unconscious...

* * *

What the hell was she doing! Dante's mind raged as he turned to glance at the dark-haired girl who seemed to be trapped in some sort of trance. Her usually stern eyes had softened out and seemed a little unfocused but it wasn't like her to be so unprofessional. He knew how much pride she had for her skill in battling demons, so why would she be so careless? 

"Watch out!" His voice seemed harsh against the cries of the demons and even as he turned to make his way to her the snake-like beast lashed out at her. His heart pounded violently against his ribs as he dashed forwards, a spray of blood rising up against the rain as the sharp fangs caught at her arm. Too late! He had been too late! He raised one arm and sent a bullet streaming through the air, watching with relief as the demon burst into nothingness.

Then suddenly all around him the snake demons paused in their fight, clawed feet clicking against the cobbled ground as they backed up, turning elongated heads up to the sky. The glow in their eyes dulled, revealing slitted pupils as they parted their jaws and gave a screech of fury, cloaks flapping back to briefly reveal their ugly serpentine bodies. In the next second they were gone, faint cries nothing more than echoes of what had once been emanating before finally fading into silence.

The sound of dying rain pattered softly against the ground, and a trickle of sunlight streamed through a parting in the clouds, catching on the blade of Dante's sword as he swung it up onto the sheath that was strapped to his back. Strange...the demons had given up so easily. With a shake of his head he dismissed this and quickly moved over to where Lady was knelt, rain trembling down her arms to mingle with the blood that was pooling down around her.

Stupid bitch, not concentrating on what she was doing!

Without warning the girl crumpled forwards, eyes fluttering closed as unconsciousness overpowered her tired mind and with that speed which set him apart from humans he dropped to his knees, catching her in his arms before she hit the ground.

"Now look at what you've done!" He spoke in a somewhat softer tone, "You're getting blood on me." A smile touched at his lips as he remembered words the she had spoken before...

_"I don'tdate guys that smell like blood..."_

He tugged her up against him, leaning forwards to try and shield her from the rain which was still fighting to remain known. She was cold to the touch, and the wound on her lip had clotted and become swollen. With one arm wrapped around her, holding her limp body against him he reached up with his other, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingertips. Now that her face was relaxed and smooth he could truly appreciate how truly youthful she was, how much suffering she had endured by the ones she had trusted the most. They were more similar than he would care to admit. Cupping her face gently with one hand he let out a long breath, leaning further over her in attempt to keep her from getting too cold.

Stupid bitch!

What had she been doing standing there like that, totally unprotected? Had something happened to her?

His eyes flickered briefly from her face to the wound which was still bleeding freely and he cursed, reaching with his free hand to grip at it and stop the flow of blood. Leather wouldn't pose as a good bandage and he wasn't sure what else he could use.

His eyes darted from side to side as he raised his head to glance around, trying to catch a glimpse of something that could be of use, sharp eyes fixing on a piece of torn black material. It had gotten caught on a piece of twisted metal that protruded from a fallen chunk of rock and was flapping like the wings of a frantic crow. Dante lay the girl down on the ground once more, keeping one hand under her head as he reached over and tugged the material free. It was a bitdamp but it would do for now, at least until he got her out of the rain. He lifted her torso up onto his lap once more and tended to the wound. knotting the makeshift bandage quickly around her arm to help slow the bleeding.

Then carefully he slipped his arms beneath her and stood up, cradling her body against his chest as he straightened and glanced about, an indecisive look in his eyes. He had no idea where the woman stayed when she wasn't fighting demons, or whether she even had a place to call home. "Guess this means you're crashing at my place." He grinned, a flash of white teeth revealed as he swung round and headed off towards the place that he himself called "home".

The clouds rolled away from each other, sunlight streaming down into the town square and sending sprays of gold across the floor. Puddles sparkled as if they were encrusted with diamonds and the tails of Dante's crimson coat flapped in the wind as his tall form disappeared into a shadowed alleyway.

* * *

The demon shifted again, a growl bubbling in his throat as he watched the man dressed in red fade from view, the silver of his hair bright where the sun played along its length. How dare they! How dare they kill that many of his followers and walk away without a single fear playing in their hearts! He snapped his teeth together and ground them angrily, he would not let them turn their backs on him and get away with it! 

He gained little comfort from the fact that the human girl had been injured, what did it matter that the pathetic creature would die. She could have suffered much worse fates than that if he had his way with her and instead she would simply whither away like a rose in the desert. His lips pulled back to reveal sharp fangs as he snarled his aggravation, skeletal hands clenching at the thought of his fallen minions.

"You didn't really think he would fall, did you?" A coolly amused voice rippled through the air, causing the demon to jump to attention, his head snapping up to glance towards the top of the statue. Upon the great bronze shoulder stood the only creature who this snake-beast would ever take orders from. "You ordered them to commit suicide."

"M-massster?"

"Come now Nyoka think rationally, your simple and mindless snakes against Dante the son of Sparda?" A harsh laughter sounded and the snake-demon huddled up, a scowl playing on his grotesque features. He was not one to be teased, but he knew that this was truth, even he was no match for the devil's might unless he already be weakened.

"I apologissse." Nyoka spoke through gritted teeth, his tone guttural and slow, forked tongue adding a hiss to his words which were hard to form with his strangely shaped mouth. _So..._ he thought to himself, _that was the son of Sparda, we finally found him!_

"Although the battle hasn't been an entire failure."

"I am glad to hear thisss." Nyoka's mood brightened a little, glad to have been of some use to the _Mightier One_, especially when it had often proved a great task. He was tempted to question further but was a little nervous about the reaction he would get. Really it was no place for a snake to ask such a thing, especially to one's Master. However it appeared that he was willing to share this without a prompt.

"I have discovered a weakness we could use against the silver-haired one."

"A weaknesss?" Nyoka tilted his head in confusion, lids flicking quickly over his golden-slit eyes as he prodded for more information. He had seen nothing of that in the half-breed's show, it had been quick and deadly showing nothing that could be described as 'weak'.

"The girl."

"I do not underssstand."

"I would not expect one as yourself to comprehend it, was the wound she received serious?"

"Oh yesss." The snake chuckled, "ssshe will die a ssslow and painful death."

"Is there a cure?" The _Mightier One_ snapped, eyes narrowing with impatience.

"W-what?"

"You heard me snake! Is there a cure?"

"Well of courssse, but Massster I do not underssstand why you would wisssh life upon her."

"Do not question me!" The _Mightier One_ boomed, a flash of anger searing through his dark eyes. "We can use the girl to manipulate him, now about this cure..."

"Ahh I sssee!" The snake's eyes brightened, a pleased smirk spreading across his scaly face as he lapped up the words that he was being given. True pain was that of the heart and although Nyoka had never experienced it first hand he had heard of what it had done to others...what it had done to the great Sparda. "I ssshall sssend my mossst trusssted follower to deliver the cure. Doesss thisss fit well?"

The _Mightier One_ gave the snake a stern glance, knowing very well that this 'follower' would not live long enough to explain what the cure was for and growled with frustration. Dante would kill the demon on sight. Why is it that most of the demons he seemed to meet had the brains of a sickly toad? He scowled and watched as the snake demon disappeared from sight, his form shimmering into nothingness as he teleported from the city.

With a sigh he stayed a moment longer before he leapt from the statue, landing neatly on his feetbefore heading off across the cobbles, reaching out his hand to catch the last few drops of rain that fell from the brightening sky.

"Little son of Sparda will suffer a wound that even he won't be able to heal, a wound tothe heart." Throwing back his head the _Mightier One_ filled the now empty town square with his harsh laughter.

Things were looking up.

* * *

to be continued... 


	3. Sincere Apology

Disclaimer: Once again I'll say it. I don't own Devil May Cry and this has been written as fan work, nothing more.

* * *

A/N

Thank you all so much! It means so much to me that people are enjoying this fic and it really encourages me to continue. I've already got another fic in the works but won't start it properly until I've finished this one. The romance is on the way I promise, I'm more of a fluffy writer than anything and I like to make relationships develop slowly in a shy sort of manner. Now once again to thank all of you personally

Sasha - once again you are first to review, you need a reward of some kind. Thank you so much for your sweet review and I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Cassandra - I'm a big fan of Lady as well, nice to see a strong woman for a change and not one who is yelling: save me, every time she gets into danger. Thanks for your review.

No fries...onion rings! - Thanks again for your really wonderful review, it gave me a lot of insight this time and I'll try to do a few of those things to improve. I'm going to do a sword fighting scene or something in this chapter to try and practise with that sort of writing, to be honest it's one of the things I haven't written about much. I had typos? -dies- pretty depressing since I proof read that chapter three times, must have been lazy or something, I'll try and keep a cut down on those as well, little mistakes are things that really get on my nerves, maybe I'll go back and read through the last chapter and see what they were, odds are they were in the new sections I wrote in the last proof read. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

Silentsurrender - Yup I'm still here and with another chapter for you, thanks for your review!

Sam Valentine - Thanks for your review and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Wolfox24 - Hope I updated quick enough, took a bit longer than I thought it would but it's here now. Thanks for your review.

Kowaiki - Thanks for your review, I'm glad you like how I write the characters, I'm pretty much like Lady myself so writing her personality comes natural, it's Dante I find hard but I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.

Hermisia - uh...what do you mean no one has three eyes, - points to own forehead - is this why everyone stares at me? - is dragged off in a straight-jacket - ahh heeellp :ahem: anyway thanks for letting in on that information, I never even really thought about that when I wrote it but never mind, anything can happen in the world of DMC...right? Heh...anyways thanks for your review and the science lesson, you learn something new every day!

Censes - Thanks for your kind comments, I'm glad you are enjoying it and here's a new chapter. I'll be writing more fics after this one though no doubt.

Kiki0303 -I would never be that mean…well maybe sometimes. But hey I've gotta keep this nice, fluffy and romantic so if the heroine dies that'll be out of the window. There will be a few more twists and surprises before the two get together though I can promise you that.

Goddess - wow I'm so glad you are enjoying this, thanks for your sweet review and I hope I live up to your expectations to make this a good fic of this pairing.

Andy - thanks for your kind review, hope you enjoy this update just as much.

Aoi senshi - Yay for more DxL fans, glad you're enjoying it and thanks for your review.

Twilight Chi -Thanks for your review and here is the update for you!

Zionmx -Yes I know that, I've completed the game twice. But in this fic Dante doesn't yet know her real name and I'm using 'Mary' as a symbol of her past, one which Lady has moved on from. I'm not sure yet whether I will refer to her as Mary yet or whether Dante will find out her real name but until then she'll stay as being referred to as Lady.

* * *

Chapter 3

Dante kicked the door open with one foot and twisted sideways so he could edge both him and the still unconscious Lady into the room effortlessly. It had taken him a little longer than he had hoped to get back, but the rain had finally stopped and the sun was beginning to win its fight for possession over the sky. Dark clouds were being quickly ushered away and the pleasant spring afternoon swarmed the city with its presence.

He moved swiftly through the main room leaving the front door swinging carelessly on its squeaky hinges as he crossed over the floorboards, ignoring their protest as he moved to lay the woman down on a tattered couch that stood beneath one of the larger windows in the room. Strips of sunlight that filtered through the shutters streamed out over her, the pale white of her skin gaining a golden hue under its gentle caress.

He straightened his back and stretched, rolling his shoulders which felt suddenly lighter now that they were free of their burden. So now what? He was stuck here with nothing to do and his only company was a woman who looked like she was out for the day. He gave her one last lingering look before moving through into the back room, reaching up to pull on the cord and lighting up the small corridor. The building was an old one, musty with dust and cobwebs that he hadn't been bothered to shift since moving in, things like that just didn't bother him in the slightest. Why spend time getting rid of dust that would return in a few days?

With a shrug he passed the first door, making his way slowly up to the far door, its wooden frame so rotten that he had to be careful not to tear the door away in his hands. Having abnormal strength did have its bad qualities as well as good. Shrugging off his coat as he went he stepped up a short flight of stairs containing no more than five steps altogether and entered his own room. It was rather small and didn't look any more homely than the other spaces in the building. The wooden floorboards creaked with age and the plastered walls were crumbling and faded. The bed stood at a strange angle in the middle of the room and on the far side was a simple - but adequate - chest of drawers as well as a hanger which of course he used to suspend his coat.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust, throwing the crimson leather garment over one wooden hook and stretching once more, running one gloved hand through the strands of his silver-white hair. It would need to be cleaned, that was for sure. With a wide yawn the devil crossed the room, exiting and heading to the shower. Lady had finally made a point that he agreed with; the stench of blood wasn't exactly the most pleasant of smells.

* * *

The sound of running water consumed the peace and quiet of the rundown old building and for a moment a sense of normality settled upon everything which did not come often. Usually something terrible was happening, a demon killing some innocent mother and baby or running around causing typical mayhem in the vicinity.

Dante felt his muscles unwinding, the tension dripping from them like the water as it streamed through his hair and along his pale skin. It was good to finally rid himself of the dampness the rain had brought upon him during that scuffle and rid his skin of that irritating ash and dirt as well as blood. He grunted in slight distaste and sighed, leaning against a wall of the shower and tilting his head up to glance at the steaming water. Why was it that life was never simple? He would much rather be out having some fun but instead he was home babysitting some stupid human girl. Just his luck.

His home was beginning to feel less and less his own, especially after it had been attacked and destroyed many times before by those annoying vandals that called themselves demons. Everything in it was practically falling apart, and although it didn't bother him too much he just knew that the Lady would have something to say when she woke up. That meant another lecture which also meant another headache to look forward to.

He groaned and let his eyes fall closed, the sound of water strangely calming as he listened to it thud against the smooth surfaces and fade away. Perhaps he should have just left her there in the street, at least that way she wouldn't have been able to bother him. A small smile twitched at his lips as he imagined how pissed off she would have been. He could even hear her now, cursing demons and yelling about how heartless and cold they all were. Did she forget he was half human? No it wasn't that, she just didn't care. To her all demons were disgusting creatures whether they had any ounce of human feelings in them or not. He frowned and shifted again, hot water streaming through sleek, silver hair. What was so good about being human anyway? They were vulnerable to weather, disease and injuries and the ones he had met either wanted to kill him or wanted to call themselves demons.

Lady didn't want to date a demon? Well who cares, he had no intention of dating a stupid human bitch who was always getting on his case. Good looks can only get you so far.

The steam from the hot water enveloped him in a gentle caress, the feeling of complete relaxation unwinding the tightness in his muscles as he drew himself up once more and stepped out into the chill of the bathroom.

He reached out, snatched a large white towel from the rail and began to rub at his mop of silver-white hair, mind still intently thinking of the annoying woman lying on his couch. If she didn't even show a hint of gratitude in those fiery eyes of hers he didn't know what he'd do. Well, a few ideas did came to mind accompanied with a perverse smirk that gave his eyes a mischievous glint. Letting out a small sigh he knelt down, flinging open a small cupboard door - almost breaking it in the process - and dragged out a few garments that had remained hidden for a while. A red shirt which held a musty smell from a lack of being worn was soon shrugged up over bare shoulders, the front - as expected - was left unbuttoned.

He continued to dress, water running down from his still wet hair - soft bangs falling in front of his cool blue eyes as he straightened, catching a glance of his pale face in the small, cracked mirror that hung at a strange angle on the wall. He gave a crooked grin, shaking his head slowly. How was it that Lady had managed not to fall for his charms, his stunning good looks and his all powerful strength that surpassed any normal man? Could it be she was just playing hard to get? He would never understand what went on inside that temperamental head of hers. Perhaps that's what he found so attractive about her, the enigmatic aura that flowed around her like a silken sash.

Yes no matter how much he denied it he did find her appealing.

He was jolted from his thoughts at a loud thump emanating from the front room however, eyes flickering briefly to the door as he flung it open and dashed down the small corridor that led into the room where he had left her. His panic was short lived however, his heart slowing down to its regular pace as his eyes fell upon her form. She was beside the couch now, on hands and knees as she tried to catch her breath, injured arm trembling furiously as she tried to put weight on it. Was she trying to kill herself! He drew in a deep breath and strode neatly over to where she was, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a small - but comforting - squeeze.

"Hey." He said casually.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed spitefully as she pushed herself up into a kneeling position on the floor, reaching over with one hand to grasp at the poorly bandaged arm.

"Oh, thanks Dante, you saved my life, how can I ever repay you for your kindness?" He mocked with slight annoyance, "hey listen here Lady, you ought to show a bit of gratitude or next time I might decide to leave you behind."

"T-there won't be a next time." She muttered weakly, her fingers tightening against the wound on her arm.

Dante's eyes widened a little, not quite believing what he had heard, she had...stuttered! Did this mean she was finally going to give up demon hunting after all this time? Perhaps act like a normal young woman? The thought disturbed him a little.

"What are you talking about?" He said, instantly regretting his words as her head snapped up, dark eyes boring into him. "Well uh it's up to you babe." He said almost nervously.

"Shut up!" She growled in reply, reaching up with her good hand and pulling herself up onto her feet. For a moment she wobbled precariously and then she stabilised herself and moved to sit on the couch, a small sigh breaking free through her slightly parted lips. Her pale face was slightly flushed and her eyes seemed wild with fever, good hand once again reaching up to grip at her bandaged arm. "Where are we?"

"At my place." Dante shrugged, damp silver hair draping in front of his cool eyes, "didn't know where else to take ya." He winced inwardly but it seemed that Lady had no snappy answer for this, instead her head and shoulders seemed to sag forwards, the grip she had on her arm going slack for a moment.

With a swift movement the fair-headed devil was sitting beside her on the faded couch, one hand reaching over to tug at the makeshift bandage wrapped around her arm, "I think that needs cleaning." He said as a quick explanation.

"Why?"

"Well it'll get infected obviously." He said, rolling his eyes and continuing to undo the knot.

"No...I mean, why did you bring me here? You could have left me back there..." She trailed off, her eyes cast downwards.

"Listen up lady, I don't care what you think of us demons but no matter how much you want to believe I am this evil beast you make me out to be then you're going to be disappointed." There was a deep tone to his voice, underlying with anger and hurt. "I've spent my life ridding this world of demons that have been spewed from the bowels of hell, you and I aren't much different if you think about it."

There was no reply.

He tugged the bandage free and just managed to catch his cry of surprise. The puncture marks already looked as if they were brimming with infection, the area around the wound a flaming red which looked painful to the touch. The flesh that was revealed from the injury looked almost yellowish and a clear liquid oozed thickly from the worst of wound.

"What is it?" Lady asked, raising her head slightly to try and catch a glimpse of it. Even Dante was too slow to avert her eyes and the look he saw in them sent a chill crashing down to the very pit of his stomach. After a moment of lengthened silence a spooky smile curved her lips and she let out a weakened laugh, leaning back against the couch and releasing a held breath.

"It needs seeing to right away." Dante said smoothly, standing up and moving over to where the desk stood on unsteady legs. For a moment the sounds of him fumbling through the messy drawer overtook all else and then silence ensued.

Lady's eyes flickered and closed, finding it difficult to keep them open in such a state, they felt heavy...so heavy that they just wanted to shut out the light of the world and take her into a deep sleep. One in which she would never awaken. Her heart jolted and she forced herself to sit up, she wasn't ready to die! Not like this! Drawing in a ragged breath she felt the thickness in her throat that gave away the signs of her sudden grief, and even as she tried to push it away, tell-tale signs of tears beaded at the corners of her eyes. Why was it that fate was so cruel to her? A father who sacrificed his own wife to become a devil himself, befriending someone who should have been her enemy. Now this...a wound that was most likely beyond healing.

At this thought her head snapped up once more, eyes tracing the curve of the devil's back as he searched the drawer. What did he think he was going to find in there? He had no use for anything to do with First Aid...the bastard healed almost instantaneously. Then a thought hit her, could Dante possibly be completely immortal? How old was he exactly? She tired to think back to the legends she had heard about Sparda but they seemed fuzzy and distant. The room blurred once more and she let out a pained groan, the throbbing ache in her arm increasing. She wouldn't give up this easy, she would not let such a small wound be the end of her. She was a demon hunter dammit!

"Hey, are you...crying?"

"Shut up!" She snapped viciously in reply, there was no way in hell she was going to put up with him and his snide comments today. "Just shut up!"

"Glad to see you haven't lost the attitude." He snorted and dropped a small box onto her lap. "So are you going to let me clean that up or will you manage?" A grin spread across his face at her stony gaze and with a shrug he settled beside her in one quick movement. "I knew you'd see it my way in the end."

Her eyes were drawn once again downwards to the box, there was a label on it too faded to be read but she guessed it was some sort of medical kit. What would a demon such as he be wanting with that? She angled her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him, a racing pain suddenly lancing down her arm. She gritted her teeth against any sound to indicate that it had hurt and continued to watch him.

His coat had been replaced by a faded red shirt, not the usual vibrant crimson she was used to seeing him in and his still damp hair clung to his finely featured face. His eyes were deep with concentration and his bottom lip had been caught between a row of perfectly white teeth. Her heart gave a small flutter but she chose to ignore it, continuing her study of him. His callused hands were nimble and practised as he tended to the wound on her arm and even as the pain seemed to increase his almost delicate touch seemed to ease it.

He moved again, arm reaching out for the box and after a moment of searching he discovered the next item needed. It was some sort of bottle, but her eyes were too blurred to read exactly what it said. She supposed it was some sort of cleaning fluid used to flush out dirt and help keep away infection.

"Just to warn you this might hur--"

"Just be quiet and get on with it will you." She hissed, turning her head away and bracing herself for the pain. It surprised her a little to think that Dante knew what pain was, could it be possible that he felt the pain when he had been slashed and stabbed? Had it hurt when she had shot him in the head that time...no. He hadn't acted as if it had hurt at all, he had just been slightly pissed off.

Lady probably would have smiled about that thought if Dante hadn't chosen that exact time to pour the fluid into the wound. She bit down on her already split lip, tears brimming in her mismatched eyes as she reopened that small wound and felt the blood bubble up from it. The pain seared through her entire being, her arm trembling as the wound seemed to be set on fire and the first of the tears escaped, trembling down her flushed face.

Pain is good, she reminded herself. Yet the question still haunted her mind; would it be enough and if not then how long did she have?

A fluttering touch against her cheek caused her to jolt suddenly and she raised her eyes to catch that devil touching her cheek, a tear caught on his fingertips. She had been...crying! Oh great...now she would never hear the end of it.

"Well I never thought I'd see the day." Dante spoke, ignoring the look on her face.

"Yes, well that's the problem when you're human, you get hurt you feel pain." She shouted, trying to free her arm from his grip.

"You really ought to practise saying the word; thanks." He sighed, letting go of her arm and leaning back in the couch, a smirk spreading across his face.

"You really need to learn to leave me the hell alone." She replied with a firm tone, shifting herself so she could glance away to the other side of the room, too aware of how close he was to her. Perhaps it was just the fever or the realisation that her days might be numbered but his sudden closeness built up a flutter of excitement inside her. She tried to push these thoughts away but it only seemed to make things worse and after a long moment of silence she felt him shift beside her. Her heart gave a lurch of fear and anticipation but instead he simply got up, his tall form crossing her path of vision before disappearing down the small corridor that led into the back rooms.

She heard his excuse for leaving, something about feeling tired and supposed it was just something he had made up to get away from her. Now that he was gone and she was left alone in the silence of the room the guilt of what she had said to him began to take a hold of her. She sighed and reached up to tentatively touch her arm, surprised to find a delicate white bandage wrapped around it. It astonished her that he was so skilled at such things when he himself had no need for it.

The heaviness returned to her eyelids and she leaned back in the couch once more, eyes closing as she heard the small squeak of the springs in the cushions. A few moments later and her breathing had evened out, her body relaxed as she was swept into sleep, no longer aware of the pain in her arm or of her darkening fate.

* * *

She didn't awaken again until much later in the day, tired eyes opening and focusing slowly as she drank in her surroundings. The musty scent of the building was the first to reach her dulled senses and then very slowly the pain in her arm returned, reminding her of what had happened and where she was.

After a moment or two of recollecting her memories she finally tugged her body forwards and slowly braced herself to stand. Her knees trembled weakly for a moment and her head span slowly, the room swaying from side to side. A sickening feeling gathered in her throat but she forced it away and staggered across the room, reaching up and closing the main door which had been left open since Dante had brought her home. It clicked shut and the chill faded away from the room as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She felt awful and not just because of the injury.

Her eyes unconsciously slid over to the corridor where she had last seen him go and after a moment of pondering on her actions she slowly made her way across the room, pausing once before she reached her destination. For a moment she hesitated, eyes taking a moment to grow used to the gloom. She could see two doors from here, one at the far side and one on the west wall, that certain door had been left ajar. Perhaps he was in there?

She grunted as she moved slowly across the floor, head spinning as she tried to figure out what exactly she was going to say to him. An apology was in order but it was just something she wasn't very good at. She hadn't had to say sorry to anyone for a long time now, partly because she had spent a good deal of her life alone. It was strangely pathetic now that she thought about it and because of her rash words she was faced with a tough decision: what would be the best way to apologise to a devil?

Upon arriving at the first door she was disheartened to see that it was empty and turning her head she glanced almost nervously at the far door. Suddenly it seemed very far away, the corridor lengthening even as she stood there and thought about approaching. She shook her head violently as if trying to clear it from the hallucinations and stumbled onwards, feet moving quietly against the ground as she continued.

Her fingers trembled as she extended her hand and she paused briefly, cursing herself before grabbing hold of the door handle and pushing it open. It creaked somewhat raucously causing her heart to jerk, would he be angry knowing she had come in here?

"Dante?" She called softly, an unusual tone for her.

The room was darkened a little, a grey cloak of shadows settling upon everything, just enough to keep her eyes from seeing every detail in their dizzied state. For a moment she thought the room was empty and then she picked out movement and she took another step into the room. So he was there after all, his form spread out across the bed from where he lay on his stomach, head turned to the side where it was pillowed against one of his arms.

So he _was_ sleeping.

She moved over to stand beside his bed, glancing down at him with a piercing gaze. Thoughts of revenge filtered through her mind, for all those sarcastic and annoying comments that he had directed her way and for ever showing her that not all demons were mindless murderers. Everyone had a weakness, Dante had to have one too, if only she could find it. A single bullet in the right place, perhaps one of silver would be enough to take him out? She growled quietly and reached out as if to wake him. How could someone like him be able to make her feel so strange and all jumbled up inside?

So why was she here anyway? Oh yes...the apology.

"I just came here to say..." She swallowed, "well about earlier when you helped me after I got bitten by that demon." Why the hell was this so hard to do? Just one little word and it would all be over and she could return to the couch. "So yes, I wanted to thank you for helping me and to say that I'm...sorry for being ungrateful." She winced at the admittance of this, the words almost sickening.

Happy with herself for being so stealthy in her apology she thus almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand grasp at her wrist as she turned to leave. A startled cry pushed its way free from her throat as she was whirled around on the spot, her feet becoming entangled and causing her to topple forwards. She met not with the floor as she had expected but with a warm, strong chest, the realisation of this enough to knock her almost senseless.

"You don't think I'm used to that tough-girl attitude yet?" Dante teased, and she could tell by his voice that he was smiling.

"You're impossible!" She replied.

"See what I mean." He chuckled, hands moving to grip just above her elbows as he swung her around, pressing her back firmly against the wall. She was trapped now, between him and the wall of his room and she was suddenly aware of just how much power he had over her. Dante's smile widened; well now wasn't this a promising situation. The smile never left the slight curve of his lips even as he leaned closer to her and she moved her head back as if trying to get away from him, eyes wild with fright. She reminded him of a cornered animal and his senses told him briefly that an animal that felt trapped would always attack if the need came. He would have to be careful.

"What do you think you're doing?" She growled trying to push his arm away so that she could make her escape.

"Shh." He whispered, one hand reaching out to grasp at her hip and the other resting beside her head on the wall. She raised her eyes to meet with his and instantly fell victim to his charm, the cool blue pools of his eyes soothing the anger and fear inside of her. She swallowed and tilted her head up slightly, own eyes softening as they connected with his and refused to let loose their hold. Her heart drummed noisily in her chest and something fluttered in her stomach.

The only thing she was aware of was the movement of his face as it steadily grew closer and the warmth of his breath as it tickled against her flushed skin. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to allow this to happen and yet at the same time she craved it. She longed so much for it that she would do absolutely anything to make sure that he went through with it.

She tensed and let her eyes flutter closed, long lashes resting upon her cheeks as she moved as if to lean in to the kiss that was sure to come...or would have if an enraged demon hadn't chosen that particular time to come crashing through the window.

The two jolted back to reality, tugging apart from each other as they turned to face this new adversary who was getting slowly to its feet and shaking the glass free from its cloak. The serpent face was revealed to them, golden eyes piercing the gloom as it turned to gaze at them, a low hiss escaping from its throat.

"Oh for fuck sake! Not again!" Dante growled, glancing sideways at his coat that was hanging on the hook, the sword was still there with it, the deadly blade hidden beneath the thick leather sheath. It wouldn't take much effort to get it, but things had been made a little more difficult now that he had to protect Lady. She was in no state to fight whether she agreed or not, and he was secretly very worried about that injury. He had never seen one quite like it before and he had a sinking feeling it could be a bit more serious than she had made it out to be.

The snake demon righted itself and from outside a shrill scream broke through the usual cries of the demons as they prepared to attack. The devil and human exchanged glances, simultaneously coming to the same conclusion. The scream had belonged to a child!

Lady made for the door, disappearing through it and closing it just in time, the demon had flung itself at her, a battle cry filling the room with a deafening sound. It made contact with the wood and left itself momentarily dazed. That was all the distraction that Dante needed to neatly back flip towards the hook, grabbing the sword from its place and swinging it out in front of him, the weight balanced evenly against his palms.

"Bring it on!" He yelled, watching as the demon slowly turned to him. A wry grin spread across the devil's pale face as he whirled forwards bringing the blade up at an elegant arc as he span. A trail of light swept upwards, tracing the path of the sword right up into the innards of the demon and even as the creature disappeared into a cloud of dust there was nothing there to taint the sword's bright blade.

Dante straightened his position and made for the window, one hand pressing against the broken frame as he vaulted himself up and through the opening. He landed with a cat-like grace on the other side of the building, feet coming to rest with a gentle thud against the damp ground.

His keen eyes traced the surrounding area and quickly calculated how many demons had gathered in the street. At the least he supposed there would be about fifty, but judging from how the last battle had gone there could have been many more. He cursed quietly and leapt upwards, feet meeting with the side of the wall as he propelled himself even higher, flipping forwards so he could land neatly upon the roof of the same building.

In the next moment Lady was out of the main door as she dashed out into the street, her movements slowed as she struggled to keep a good grip on the guns she had with her. Dante gave an exasperated sigh as he watched her, secretly admiring her stubbornness and bravery in the face of danger. It was going to be the death of her one of these days. Cupping his hands around his mouth he drew in a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could, hoping to at least grab the attention of a few of the demons who seemed to be advancing on the weaker of the prey. It didn't work. The snakes were far too intelligent to give up a chance on killing a weakened human and they continued to move towards her at a quick pace. Lady fired the twin pistols and before her a few of the demons screamed, knees buckling as they fell to the floor, bodies turning to dust before they even hit the ground.

Dante backed up a little from the edge of the roof and after a moment of hesitation he dashed forwards, his feet hardly touching the tiles as he sprang ahead, his slight but powerful form soaring through the air. Once again he met the ground without even flinching, his legs absorbing the force of the landing as easy as if he had landed on sponge. He didn't even stop to think, instead lowering his body, outstretching both arms to the side in order to bring the sword in front of him as he charged.

The scrape of metal brought up a spray of sparks as the tip of the sword met with the ground for a brief moment and in the next second he had raised the weapon and had slashed it forwards with such a force that it tore the first demon right in two. He span once more, flailing the weapon about him as easy as if it weighed nothing more than a feather.

Another child's scream erupted painfully through the metallic air causing even the demons to hesitate in their fight and Dante took the opportunity to get even closer to Lady who was now almost completely surrounded. He jumped elegantly sword raised high above his head as he brought it down in front of him, slicing a vertical gash through the nearest demon's skull. He was showered in dust once more as he landed and glanced up to stare at the Lady's face. She seemed quite shocked to see him and her bad arm was trembling so much Dante thought she looked just about ready to drop the pistol she was holding.

"You alright?" He asked.

"What do you think?" She scoffed angrily, pushing past him and making her way through the path that Dante had opened up in the demon troops. With an exasperated shake of his head he followed after her, pausing only to send yet another demon back to hell where it belonged.

* * *

The child's eyes were wide with fear, pupils dilated as she struggled to get away from the demons who were chasing after her. Her young face was sticky with blood and even now as she ran against the wind she could feel it racing up to mingle with locks of her wavy brown hair. Tears briefly blurred her vision but she continued on, running due to the power of adrenaline alone, yet even now she could hear them gaining on her, toying with her and she shuddered at the thoughts of what they would do to her if they managed to catch her. That thought alone helped her ignore the pain that rushed through her tired muscles and kept her feet moving.

She paused a brief moment as she reached the rubble that had once been an elegant city apartment building and caught her breath, crystal tears trembling down her face as she thought back to what had happened to her. In one small hand was a bottle, its curved glass sides resembling the head and neck of a mute swan.

The sound of a demon's cry alerted her once more and she began a slow climb down the fallen and broken wall of the building, landing on the ground and falling sharply to her knees as they buckled beneath her weight.

The sound of a heavy body landing in front of her was the first sign that she was in danger, the steady clicking of claws against the cobbles causing her heart to jolt in terror. She parted her lips and gave a terrified scream, snatching out with both hands as if that alone would save her from the beast.

The snake lunged at her and she dodged it, rolling sideways before jumping to her feet and continuing. This time however her legs felt like jelly, wobbling so unsteadily that she fell again. Tears blotted the dusty ground as she lay on her front, dark curls of hair falling down to hide her face from view. Her body trembled and convulsed violently even as she heard gun shots ringing out and the sound of distant voices. The girl's head snapped up, hope dwindling in her hazel eyes as she searched the area for someone who could save her, an angel from heaven descending in order to banish the demons away. To her disappointment she saw no one of that description, no winged angel had come to her rescue today.

A clawed hand came to grip her roughly by the shoulder and she was suddenly tugged violently upwards, her head rocking back painfully as she was dragged up onto her feet. Another scream pierced the evening as she found herself caught by one of the scariest of the snake demons. It hissed a laugh and a dark forked tongue flickered briefly out between its scaly lips.

"What have we here?" It spoke with a sly grin, eyes half lidded as it regarded the child and the bottle in her hand. "Well, well, well..." The snake erupted into another bout of hissing laughter only to be silenced by the crack of a gunshot and a wound to the shoulder.

"My aim must have been off." Came a distinctively feminine voice from just up ahead, catching both child and snake's attention.

"You will pay for thisss!" The snake hissed angrily, his grip increasing on the child's shoulder, claws piercing tender flesh. The girl whimpered.

"I don't think so." Lady yelled, eyes flashing angrily as she raised the pistol once more, trying to steady her hand to shoot again. It was important she didn't hit the child in the process.

"You started the party without me?" Came yet another voice, the tone slightly playful.

The child turned her head to glance at yet another person who was steadily approaching them. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance; silvery-white hair, cool blue eyes, pale skin and a charm that flowed from him so freely he could easily be mistaken for an angel. A smile touched at her lips despite the dangerous situation she was in, and even the painful grip she was being held with seemed to be forgotten.

She was going to be saved!

"I'll take it from here Lady." The devil said coolly, taking a step forwards to stand beside her, lying a hand upon one of her shoulders. "I don't trust that aim of yours today."

The woman looked as if she was about to argue against it but remained silent, her arms falling down to hang by her sides in defeat. The child gripped the bottle tighter in her hands and sniffed quietly, tears still trembling down her cheeks. Then after a pause the young man approached slowly, both hands holding the sword in front of him as he prepared his first attack.

"Step away from the kid and give yourself up, eh?" Dante flashed the demon a grin, "or I can cut you in two, how does that sound?" He rolled the sword in his hands once and dashed forwards, feet moving blindingly fast against the ground as he made his way towards the demon and the child.

The snake parted his scaled maw and hissed, leaping backwards as if to avoid the attack, Dante's eyes hardened, their brittle gaze causing icy shudders to tremble up the snake's spine as it tried to escape. The sword was twisted at a forty degree angle, the blade slicing cleanly through the air and meeting with nothing.

The demon had disappeared.

The young girl had been thrown forwards against the ground, cracking her chin against the rock from the effort. She gave a small sob that reminded Dante of an injured animal before dragging herself up, a trickle of blood sliding down her face from the gash. She stared up at Dante with empty, dull eyes before turning to glance at Lady.

"Shit, the bastard got away." The foul-mouthed man spoke, seemingly unaware of what affect it might have on an impressionable child.

Lady's face creased in an expression of pain and she swayed on her feet, staggering sideways almost as if she was drunk, one hand reaching out to grab hold of something to keep herself from falling. A moment later the devil was at her side, sweeping her cleanly from her feet. The woman's head fell back against his chest, her expression almost childlike and the little girl took a small step towards them, reaching out a tiny hand to get their attention.

"She is dying." The child spoke, her voice monotonous and bleak, no hint of emotion lingering in the words. It was almost as if she was robotic, the sensation enhanced by the non-reflective tints in her eyes.

* * *

to be continued...

Also I apologise beforehand if there are any stupid mistakes, I had to rush the proof read becauseI realised what the time was when I finished.

AA


	4. Haunting Past

Disclaimer: Nope don't own Devil May Cry, it belongs to Capcom.

* * *

AN 

Okay here's the next chapter, I wanted to get this out as quickly as possible so I could answer some of your questions that were in the reviews. Good news is I only have one more week of college then I'm free. Well sort of. So anyway I'll get onto the reviewers.

Sasha - Yay first reviewer again! Thank you sooo much!

McFlurry...login screen? - Oh your guest names do make me laugh. Anyways what a review! I really look forward to yours, mainly because it makes me look at my work in a different perspective and I like to answer questions. I hope you feel better though, it's never good to feel ill. I can see exactly what you meant by the shower scene thing being too long, when I was reading through I really felt as if it needed making a bit smaller, sadly my time ran out and it was either submit the chapter or make you all wait another day or two. I guess I was using it as a sort of break from all the danger and such, I don't like fics that are just constantly...uhh what's the word...damn me and my terrible memory. Well yes it was a kind of interlude between the action and angst stuff. The kissing scene thing was sort of my panicked attempt at writing a bit of romance. I was reading through and it suddenly clicked: hang on a minute this is a romance fic so where the hell is it? Heh heh well yeah that's the explanation for that random moment between them. I'm so relieved to here that the action stuff wasn't too crappy, I find it quite hard because when he fights, especially with the sword he is always so quick and it's hard to get enough description in without slowing down the pace too much. Hmm I hope that made sense. The little girl has a very important part in the fic, or at least in the beginning, I'm not sure as of yet how long this is going to go on for, but it'll be quite a few chapters I should think. I just hope I can keep improving. Thanks again for your review!

Cassandra - Yes, have to please the fan girls, oh and myself whilst I'm at it. Writing that part was so much fun. Thanks for your review!

Obsidian Ideals - Yay questions. Firstly I'll thank you for your review, it was really well rounded and you don't often get too many of those now a days. Okay so now I'll get answering the things you asked...if I can. 1. There were a few reasons why I've made Lady maintain her fiery nature, the first reason is I sort of forgot what she was like at the end of the game - until a couple of days when I completed it again. The other reason is that I just personally like her when she was all mouthy and stuff, she reminds me a lot of myself when she's like that. Also I think it helps create tension between the two and I'm not quite sure how their friendship would continue outside the game myself. Would they become good friends or would it be laced with tension as I have done? I do intend to mellow out her personality in these coming chapters though so it will fit in. 2. Ahh now onto the devil trigger part. I suppose I always felt that move was a last resort. I really only used to use it on bosses myself so I guess I'm just not using it as of yet. He will be using it very soon however when he gets to fight the more intimidating demons but yes I can see your point I probably should have at least mentioned it or something. Thanks for highlighting these things for me.

Kiki0303 - Thanks for your review and here is the update, Lady probably won't suffer too much longer…I hope.

Censes - Yes I can agree with the shyness around the romance area definitely, I think Lady seems to have spent most of her time alone, especially since those family issues with her dad wanting to become a demon and all. And yes, Dante is sooo cool! I haven't come across a character like him in a while, so stylish and yet an idiot at the same time, strangely enough it works! Anyways thanks for your review, tis much appreciated.

Andy - thanks for your review, hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

Sakura - Yes so close! Don't worry things will look up for them…I hope. Well thanks for your review and I hope you like this chapter just as much.

Aoi senshi - Here's the update and thanks for your review, hopefully this one will be happier. You also got review 33 which is my lucky number!

Jaded Rose - Thanks for your review. Here I am with the next chapter, hope I didn't make you wait too long. -feels loved-

Silentsurrender - Thanks for your review, I hope I didn't make you wait too long and I'm glad you are liking everything so far.

* * *

Chapter 4 

_The stair creaked underfoot as the child tiptoed down from her bedroom. She could tell it was late due to the thickening shadows that gathered at the corners of the room, reminding her it was well past bedtime. The dwindling light from a candle was beginning to lose the battle against the dark and the girl knew it wouldn't be long before she was consumed by the night, cloaked in a sheath of darkness to hide her from prying eyes. Her hands trembled as she reached out, one palm pressed to the wall so she could feel her way down the slight curve of the steps. Her breath was shaky and harsh and the only other sound was the ticking of the clock, the bronze pendulum swinging from side to side so that it caught a flicker of candlelight and guided her down the rickety staircase._

_What had awoken her at such an hour? She paused once more, bare feet making hardly a sound as she tilted her head to try and peer around into the hallway. Nothing. Feeling a little scared she continued down the last few steps, feet meeting with the much warmer carpet. She paused here once more, wriggling her toes to try and regain the feeling in them as she listened out for any signs she hadn't been dreaming._

_'Please' she thought helplessly, 'please let this all be a dream.'_

_She jolted to awareness at the sound of voices, a harsh whisper that seemed to want to transform into a shout. The girl trembled and backed up to press herself against the nearest wall, clapping one hand over her mouth as she tried to hold in a whimper of fear. So she hadn't imagined it._

_The sound of a vase being knocked over caused her to jump and tears beaded in her eyes, who was it? Was there someone trying to get into her house? Was it Papa? Her knees trembled and swallowing back the fear which was making her throat thick and painful, she reached out and grabbed an umbrella from the stand, holding it in her quivering hands. It would serve as her protection not just from the rain but from whoever was making that racket on the other side of the door._

_The child summoned a brazen quality and with small steps she drew closer to the door that led into the kitchen. It was closed, the whispering voice muffled by its thick wood as she knelt down to peer through the keyhole. The house was a rather old one, and nearly all the doors inside were able to be locked with a heavy set of metal keys that her parents had always told her not to touch. It wouldn't do to lock yourself in or out and then lose them._

_At first she saw nothing but darkness and she wondered if perhaps someone had left the key in the door, but then she heard movement and the kitchen was revealed to her. Something…or someone had been standing in the way, blocking her view. Who was it? Her heart leapt up into her throat as she leaned her forehead against the wood and waited._

_"You must understand why this must be done." She recognised the voice instantly and her eyes widened in disbelief. Papa? What was he doing up and what was he talking about? She shivered and shuffled even closer against the door._

_"P-please don't." A choked voice replied, it was familiar and yet foreign at the same time._

_"This is the end for you and the beginning for me. It will be glorious." The voice hissed angrily and another pot was sent crashing to the ground, a scream piercing the silence and ringing in the girl's ears. She would never forget that cry of anguish. A sudden, brilliant flash of light erupted in the room, so blinding that the girl had to briefly avert her gaze, strange words filling her ears. Those of a spell perhaps?_

_What happened next the girl was too horrified to ever repeat, the sight of death ringing a cold tune in her heart and knocking her almost senseless. The child had been protected and sheltered her entire life from such events as these, from the ways of death and pain. She wanted to cry but the tears never came, she wanted to run in and help but her feet seemed stuck to the floor._

_"I'll never forget you...my beloved." Papa spoke in a strained and almost psychotic voice, and then he left the room. His dark clothed form sweeping out of the back door, leaving it hanging open on its hinges. The cold of night began to creep in through the entrance, flowing over everything with its frosty touch and the girl spotted the figure of the woman she knew all too well. She was slumped on the floor, her breath misting before her face showing that life still remained within her. Perhaps it wasn't too late!_

_She pushed strands of dark hair behind her ears and setting down the umbrella she reached up and turned the handle, pushing it open into the kitchen as she stumbled into the room. Her eyes fell instantly onto the limp form of her mother, body lying draped across the cold floor, head turned slightly up so that her shining eyes could look upon those of her daughter. It didn't take long for the girl to realise the shine in her mother's eyes were from the tears gathering inside of them._

_"M-mama." She whispered, bottom lip trembling as she held back the tears that were fighting to make themselves known in her own eyes as she moved to kneel beside the woman. Reaching out with one small hand she stroked back the hair from her mother's face and sniffed quietly._

_"Darling, you should be...asleep."_

_"I heard shouting, are y-you okay?"_

_The woman smiled softly and nodded her head a little, eyes closing for a brief moment causing a few tears to fall loose and trail down her face. "I'm okay, but darling...I can't be with you anymore."_

_"Why not mama? Did I d-do something w-wrong?"_

_"No...it's just the way things are..." She sighed, her face creasing with pain. "You're a clever girl...you'll be...okay."_

_"Mama, no please don't leave me. Please! Take me with you!" The girl's voice was filled with desperation and she tugged at her mother's sleeve, tears finally trembling down her own face. "Please, I don't want to be alone!"_

_"I'll be watching...over you." This time the woman's voice sounded strained, her breath ragged in the cool air of the kitchen._

_"Where's papa? He can make you stay."_

_"He has gone, but you...don't need him..."_

_"Did he do this to you mama? Did he? Why? I-I don't understand." Too many questions and not enough time for them to be answered. The girl moved closer to her mother, a sob racking her body as she tried to understand. Why was her mother leaving? What had her father done to her, was it...her fault? Had she done something to split them apart, make them go away?_

_"I love you...Mary." This time the words were nothing more than a whisper, the memory of them echoing around the room long after the woman had taken her last breath. The child closed her mismatched eyes and curled up on the floor beside her, falling asleep from sheer exhaustion of what had happened. Nothing would ever be the same again._

* * *

"She's what?" Dante snapped, glancing down at the woman in his arms. Her eyelids flickered and every so often a word would flutter unconsciously from her parted lips. Was she having some sort of bad dream? 

"She is dying." The girl repeated emotionlessly.

"Hey listen kid, are you a doctor? I don't think so! Just keep your thoughts to yourself." His eyes darkened with irritation and he ignored the sinking feeling that the child was probably right. How she knew such a thing however was beyond him, strange little kid. He turned and made his way back across the now empty street, moving quickly towards the building where he lived, the name of the business flickering above the entrance: _'Devil May Cry.'_

It was Lady who had helped him finally decide on a name, she who had shown such a brave outlook on life despite the situations she had been in. She might act tough but he knew she was really rather sensitive at heart. She had shown him a kinder side only briefly once before, in the time when he had returned from fighting his brother and he had handed her back the Kalina Ann. Did she even realise that they had left the weapon behind during the fight she had been wounded in? She'd most likely kill him - or try to - once she realised it was gone.

If she survived long enough to notice...

"Does it hurt?"

"What?" The silver-haired demon swung around once more, lowering his head to glance at the child. She had followed silently behind him, dry blood splattered across her pale face and wide eyes staring up at him, unblinking in their gaze.

"To lose someone you care for." She continued, her eyes falling upon Lady who was still lying cradled in his arms.

Dante shrugged and remained silent for a moment longer, mulling over the question in his mind ,then finally he came up with an answer simple enough for a child to understand. "I wouldn't know." He turned once more and continued to the door of his home, shouldering it open as he once again carried the woman inside. This was starting to become a habit, did she really expect him to carry her everywhere?

The child paused by the door as if hesitating whether to go in, rolling the bottle between her palms as she peered inside, and then a moment later she entered and pushed the door closed with a low thud. The sound echoed around the bleak looking room as the devil leant over and placed the woman once again on the couch. She looked even worse than before, her face violently flushed, eyelids flickering and her muscles twitching. It seemed the venom was beginning to have an effect on her, slowly breaking her apart from the inside. How much longer did she have, and what would he feel when she was no more?

He slammed a fist against the floor, wood splintering and cutting into the side of his hand as he emitted his fury, he had never felt so helpless in his entire life. What could he do against such an enemy as poison? He watched the blood drip from the wounds on his hand, pattering softly against the floor and staining it.

"You're in pain." The child spoke from her place near the door, dark locks of hair falling into her face as she stared intently at him.

"Listen kid, you're really starting to get on my nerves. Okay so you might have just been terribly traumatised by what's happened to you, but that doesn't give you a right to--"

"I don't remember." The child interrupted as if she hadn't even heard him speak.

"Don't remember what?" He arched a brow in questioning, shaking his hand to rid it of the dull ache that continued even after the small wounds had healed up.

"Anything."

"That's part of the trauma kid, get used to it." Dante grunted, pausing only to give the child a softer look. He wasn't great at dealing with people in general, let alone with the younger ones. So what exactly was he supposed to say to her? She sort of creeped him out, maybe in the way she stared at him with those lifeless eyes or the way she spoke; so dull and cold. "Listen, I guess you can stay here until you remember where you live." He sighed, "I'm not about to throw you outside or anything, just don't piss me off."

"I can help her you know." The child spoke, her words slow and purposeful.

"What?"

"Here." The child took a small step forwards, her feet moving soundlessly over the usually creaky floorboards, hands outstretched in offering. Dante's eyes fell upon the strange bottle held out in her palms, the strange curve of its neck almost like that of a bird. Inside there was some sort of strange fluid that seemed to be emanating a faint glow.

"It will help." The girl urged, raising her hands higher.

"How do you know?"

"I have no answers to that. Trust me or she will die." The girl repeated and dropped the bottle into the devil's extended hand. How had she known that the bottle was a cure? Somewhere inside her she grew troubled. Had she really just forgotten everything or was there something else going on that no one was yet aware of?

"Alright I'll let this slide for now, but I'm going to want answers later." Dante replied thoughtfully, holding up the bottle to examine the strange liquid in the light. It seemed to glitter vibrantly before his very eyes, the bottle growing warm to the touch, would this really help Lady? Could he take the risk?

Yes...

No...

He didn't really have a choice in the matter.

He tugged the cork out of the neck of the bottle, wrinkling his nose as he caught a whiff of the strange and extremely strong scent that flowed from it.

"You would do best to wake her up." The child said before taking a few steps back, arms crossed in front of her chest as if protecting herself from something. She fell silent then, her dark eyes flickering between the tall man and the woman lying on the couch, her head leaning back against a faded cushion whilst she moved in her fitful sleep.

"You think she will?" Dante sounded a little uncertain as he moved to kneel beside Lady again, sliding one hand beneath her head to tilt it up a little. "She looks completely out of it to me."

"The bottle, perhaps the scent will wake her."

"Your theories are starting to worry me. Now shh, no talking." He waved her away with a hand before bringing up the bottle to hover just beneath the woman's nose. He had never smelt anything quite like it, an almost metallic scent mixed with something much softer. It created a strange contrast and sure enough the woman stirred, her eyes closing tightly before fluttering open, unfocused gaze settling onto the ceiling above them.

"Welcome back." Dante grinned.

"What?" The woman shifted slightly, trying to sit up bit failing miserably, her body crumpling back against the cushion. She felt weak, terribly weak and her mind was consumed with flashbacks and memories of the past and the present. What had happened to her? She felt like that ten year old girl once more, lost and confused with no one to turn to except for...a demon.

She turned her attention to him now, taking in the weak grin that was spread across his face and the nervousness in his eyes. That look didn't seem right worn on him, he never got scared or worried about anything so what was the reason for it being there? It made her nervous too. She coughed and spluttered suddenly when she caught the strengthening scent that was flowing up from the neck of the bottle and tried to push it away.

"Look wait a minute, I'm trying to help you here. The kid says you should take this and it'll cure you."

"Cure me?" She hissed angrily, eyeing the bottle with suspicion. "You take medical advice from a child?" The hint of a shaky smile actually played on her lips as she glanced between thedevil and girl, was this some sort of cruel joke?

"Trust me Lady, that bite wound is poisoned, it needs to be cleaned properly."

So he did care after all. She blinked and her eyes met with his once more. Why was it that Dante was the only guy ever to make her heart flip in her chest and cause a fluttering in her stomach like she had swallowed butterflies? She shook her head slowly in disbelief and she reached up to press a hand over her heart, trying to slow it's frantic beating. It wasn't possible! She couldn't be...in love with him, could she? No, she couldn't feel anything like that for a demon, perhaps she was just getting things confused. She had to admit she had learned to like him after spending more time with him but thinking that their relationship went beyond that was folly.

Her face heated up suddenly, flaring with embarrassment at the thoughts that whirled through her head and then suddenly the small bottle was being placed in her hands. She allowed her attention to focus on the bottle and narrowed her eyes at the horrid smell. What was this stuff anyway?

"Drink it." Dante urged from where he was knelt beside the couch.

"I bet it tastes disgusting." Lady muttered before raising the bottle to her lips, holding her breath as she tipped up the container and emptied the contents into her mouth. It seemed to burn her throat as she swallowed it, the strange concoction warming her from the inside and leaving her feeling slightly giddy. Her first thought was that perhaps she had just foolishly accepted some sort of strong alcohol but again her eyelids felt heavy. She didn't want to sleep, she wanted to ask questions and get some answers. She didn't want to dream about the past anymore.

She swung her legs from the side of the couch and struggled to stand, the silver-haired youth rising to aid her if she accepted it. She pushed away his advances and turned to glance at the child, so what was up with her just standing there and doing nothing? Those eyes seemed empty of emotion and there was something that didn't seem quite right about her appearance. "You said she helped you?" She asked Dante.

"Yeah, she was the one who gave me that bottle." He shrugged.

"Dante, you accept strange bottles from kids and believe everything they say to you and you wonder why I think you're such an idiot?" She rolled her eyes and reached out to lean against the arm of the couch.

"Oh yeah, sorry for trying to save your life!" He snapped, grabbing her wrist to keep her from getting away from him. "Can you tell me why that's so wrong?" His eyes darkened as he gazed down at her, eyes boring into her own startled ones. Could it be...he felt the same way? No! She shook her head and her face twisted into a frown as she regarded him sternly.

"It's not wrong, I just wish sometimes you'd think things through instead of rushing into everything." Her anger flared at the grin that appeared on his face and she gritted her teeth angrily, fingers twitching as she fought the urge to hit him.

"Come on babe, rescuing young damsels in distress is my speciality." His eyes glittered with mischief and he raised his free hand, catching her balled fist in his palm and enveloping it with his fingers. "Glad to see you're back to your normal feisty self." The shocked expression that flickered over her face caused him to laugh suddenly and she tried to tug away from his grip once more, a wave of fatigueflowing overher.

"Dante, let me go." She demanded wearily. There was a moment of hesitation before he released his grip on her, eyes darting quickly back to the child who remained standing silently near the door, large brown eyes focused on them.

"She will need rest before the cure can heal her fully." The child spoke.

"Who are you really?" Lady asked as she turned round to glance at the child.

"I...don't remember."

The woman opened her mouth to question further when Dante shoved her sideways lightly. "let's talk about this later, I don't know about you guys but I'm starving." He reached up and ran fingers through strands of his silver hair before grasping Lady by the shoulders and directing her back to the couch. "And you need rest."

Lady tried to argue back but after a moments thought decided against it, allowing herself to sit back down, fatigue weighing heavily on her eyes, dragging her back down into a deep sleep.

None of them noticed the pair of glowing eyes spying in at them from between the broken shutters...

to be continued...

* * *

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Okay so in the next chapter I'm going to bring in the romance and I want to know whether you would prefer either:

option 1: Keep this a fluffy romance with adult situations implied but not described. This is my preference since I haven't had much experience with writing anything heavier, but I'd be willing to write a few scenes if that is what you would like.

option 2: Up the rating to a Mature audience and make the romance a little heavier on the explicit side.

The choice is up to you!

AA


	5. Kalina Ann

Disclaimer: Nope I don't, won't and will not ever own Devil May Cry.

* * *

AN 

Woo hoo I can finally log in! I was getting worried for a moment there!

Well here I am again with yet another chapter. Good news is I've finished college now and all I have to do now is set up an exhibition before the end of the year completely. I do however have two weeks off before that and I'm hoping to throw out a few chapters in that time and end this sometime during the summer so that I can start writing another one ( these are just so fun! )

On a random note...the difficulty 'Dante Must Die' on the game is so frikkin hard! I keep dying on the second level -pathetic-

Anyway from the question I asked you guys about the romance content we have:

3 - don't mind either way

5 - keep the adult content implicit

4 - boost the rating up to M.

Now on to thanking all of you lovely reviewers!

Aoi senshi - You like surprises, eh? Well don't we all I guess it's because I'm torn between the options and I'm a terrible decision maker. I guess I'll just write what's best at the time hopefully. Thank you for your review!

Sam Valentine - Yes it's DxL all the way with me although I'm easily swayed to other pairings apparently, but anyway that's another story. Thanks for your review and I'm glad you are still enjoying it.

MorbidityEmbodied - thanks for your input, I'll certainly consider it.

Dante - Option 2 for you as well, eh? Well I'll certainly consider it, and if I don't in this fic then I'll certainly try perhaps in a one-shot or something.

Presom - another vote for M rating, I'll add you to the magic poll of wonder! Thanks for your input.

Kiki0303 - Option 1 was my fav too, I'm more of a fluffy writer at heart really and tend to stray away from anything heavier then that. It'll probably be the case for this fic too, I just wanted to know if anyone had any preferences really before I got onto that section. Thanks for your review!

Censes - I'm exactly the same...well actually I've never written about anything like that really, I usually just refer to it implicitly so the audience knows what's going on but it isn't actually down in words. DMC 3 hard? Hmm...yes, but then it's not my usual sort of game anyway, if Dante wasn't so hawt I probably wouldn't have given it a second glance, heh heh -ish crazy fan girl- Thanks for your review!

Anonymous - hey ninja-ish person, thanks for your input, another person who prefers the T rating I see. Welcome to the wonderful land of...writing by me! Heh, well thanks for your review and yes Lady and Dante all the way!

No more fast food - Don't worry about it, I didn't sign up to this place until I was sure I wanted to do writing myself and even when I review I usually don't sign in. I'm too lazy that's my trouble! -throws you an apple- eat some fruit! It be healthy for you! The main reason I wrote this chapter rather quickly is because I was hit in the head with inspiration about the flashback thing. I'll probably continue that sort of set up for the next few chapters as well since it means I get to play about in Lady's history, and that's always fun. Your review makes me so happy, I'm glad that I'm getting better, to be honest I was a bit worried about that last chapter because it seemed rather short and not much happened in it but I'm glad you liked it. The typo is just, grrr annoying but I think it must be when I upload and I'm giving the document a last check, maybe hitting the wrong button or something…I don't know. Oh well as long as you know what I meant I guess there's not much harm done. I'm glad you like the plot, it was kind of a random thing I thought up when I was playing the game so yeah...it should all come together nicely soon. Thanks for your review!

Maia - Option 2 for you -adds to the list- thanks for your input.

DarkRose - Thanks so much for your review, I'm glad there are others like me out there who enjoy the lighter romance. Your idea about Lady shooting Dante if he tried anything heavier on her sounds like it could make for a great fic though. -is inspired- And yes, I think the first option would suit me much better, unless I was feeling particularly up for writing something mature on the day, which probably won't happen.

BloodyDemonEmpress - Thanks for your really nice review, I'm glad you enjoyed it so far, there's much more to come though so stay tuned.

Sakura - Whee! Thanks for the review my newfound friend Thanks for your input, I'm glad most people aren't too picky, which means I get to write lots more fluffier stuff - unless of course I feel like more of a challenge.

Sasha - Okie thanks for your honest opinion, and I'm glad you like what I have so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

* * *

Chapter 5 

_Rain drummed against her as she ran, its long wet caress streaking down the curves of her face and through her hair which was sailing behind her. Eyes darted from side to side as she searched for an opening, an escape into an alley where she could be lost amongst the shadows. Her breath clouded before her, lungs hot as she gasped for each breath of oxygen which helped to keep her moving despite the fatigue which was weighing down her legs. She knew they were after her, she could hear them moving and smell their demonic scent as they lingered just behind; waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They were toying with her and in the next few moments she could be lying as nothing more than a bloodied mess on the ground._

_She closed her eyes tight and raised her head to the rain, letting the muscles in her face relax as she tried to focus on the job at hand. Her destination wasn't too far ahead and if she could just keep outwitting them then she shouldn't have too much trouble staying out of harms way._

_Her feet slipped on the cobbles as she skidded to a halt, swerving down an alleyway and continuing her quick pace, footsteps echoing loudly all around her, giving away her position easily. She had forgotten how much sound travelled in narrow passageways such as this. She tried to ignore everything and keep her eyes ahead, watching the low wall come into sight as she continued, and prepared to vault over it._

_A flash of a weapon caught her attention and she swivelled her head up, eyes widening as she saw a ghoulish figure leaping down from the roof to land in front of her. The curved edge of the scythe sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine and she stumbled back a few steps, hands reaching down to the holsters hugging against her hips. Held inside of them were a pair of sparkling new pistols, hardly used and quivering with anticipation of battle. Fingertips brushed against the smooth, cool edges of their manmade shapes and then suddenly she was cradling one in each palm, enjoying the cold load weighing down her hands._

_She raised them both, fingers trembling as she tried to aim, the first bullet pinging off of the scythe and flying backwards, buzzing just above her head as it went. She jumped forwards, accidentally squeezing the trigger of the second one which sent a bullet zipping straight into the demon's clawed foot._

_The creature let out an agonised yell and suddenly two others appeared, both of them leaping down beside the first and blocking her path forwards. She was left with little choice now, she had to fight - and well - if she had any hope to get to the gunsmith before nightfall. They advanced on her slowly and she gritted her teeth, raising the pistols once more and trying to steady her hands, focusing on the beasts ahead._

_She shot both pistols simultaneously, two demons springing upwards to leap clear of them and lashing down upon her. One bullet however met with the slower demon, burying itself into its ghoulish skull and sending it back to the ashes it had been created from._

_The weight of the two bodies sent her sprawling backwards and she hit the ground heavily, one demon swinging its arched weapon downwards so it sliced along her collarbone and down to the centre of her chest. A cry of agony forced its way free from her throat and she thrashed angrily, squirming to free one hand and shooting the free pistol again. The bullet whizzed through the air once more, hitting the beast in the shoulder and sending it reeling backwards. With a fluid motion she wrestled her other arm free and jammed the pistol into the gaping jaws of the skeletal creature. A moment later and she was covered with its dusty remains from head to foot._

_She coughed and choked, eyes streaming as she sat up, the sound of a blade whooshing past her ear just as she remembered the third demon that had not yet been sent to hell. Its mighty shriek reverberated painfully around her skull as she rolled backwards, leaping to her feet and spinning round to face it once more. Both arms raised, elbows locking straight as she stopped her momentum and fired again, the sound of empty cartridges could be heard clinking against the cobbled street as the dust was washed away with the rain._

_After a moment of catching her breath she jammed the pistols back into their rightful place and continued at a slower pace, the sound of her movements masked by the rain as it continued to pound against the floor relentlessly. She was soaked and tired but she was not beaten and that was all that mattered to her now, especially when she was so close to getting what she wanted._

_Revenge was so near she could almost taste it, and she knew it would be extremely sweet. Finally after all these years she could show him how much she hated him, for leaving her alone, for hurting mama and more importantly, for wanting to become something that no one ever should. Demons...She hated them all so much and she intended to make sure that she killed every last one of them. No matter how strong and invincible they seemed, if she trained hard enough she knew even a simple human girl such as herself could destroy them._

_Holding her head high she leapt upwards, hands resting on the top of the wall as she tucked her legs up and pushed herself over to land neatly on the other side. She paused, stretching both arms up above her head before continuing, brushing back wet strands of hair from her face as she reached up and pushed the door to the gunsmith's shop open. The jingling of a bell was all that the keeper needed to know someone had entered, and the smile he gave her was a clear sign that she had indeed made it._

_He turned to face her and his eyes wrinkled with amusement as he caught a sight of her clothes. "Looks like you've just been through hell and back." He guffawed and smacked one large hand down against the counter to emphasize his delight over the fact._

_"It certainly feels like it." She admitted slowly, a hesitant smile creeping up over her face at the sight of the large man. Over the years she had become good friends with him, keeping the area free of demons whilst he supplied and taught her how to use many various weapons, ranging from pistols to explosives. However the new guns she had been given recently were more powerful and she had yet to get used to their weight and kick. Once she had mastered them however…then the demons wouldn't stand a chance._

_"These worked a charm, a little on the heavy side though, kept throwing off my aim." She took out the pistols and laid them on the counter, the gunsmith inspecting them with his sharp eyes. He nodded and picked one up, running a cloth over it's smooth side lovingly._

_"You need to show them more love my dear, these weapons will save your life so treat them with the respect they deserve." He sighed and then placed it back on the counter. "Anyway you're right on time, I finished that new weapon you commissioned just fifteen minutes ago." He jabbed a thumb towards the door behind him and lifted up the wooden flap to allow her to pass behind the counter. "She's waiting for yah, just make sure to treat this one with care. Mistreat her and she'll kick you back so hard your ribs will be shattered. Oh and maybe more then that if you misjudge a shot."_

_"I'm no amateur Owen, I know how to handle weapons." She gave him a crooked grin and moved past him, pushing open the door and reaching out to turn on the lights. The room instantly came to life before her eyes, the smell of oil and gunpowder as well as heated metal filling her lungs with its somewhat comforting scent. The workshop was surprisingly large, a great furnace burning molten fire at the far end heating up the room incredibly well. Tools and guns of all shapes and sizes were scattered about on wooden desks, oil covered rags hanging from hooks on the walls, and the taps dripping noisily into the sink. The place never changed, and it was this sense of stability that Lady welcomed more than anything else._

_"You have the same look on your face the very day that I met you and invited you back here." Owen laughed heartily, tapping a hand against her shoulder. "Your eyes were so wide I could have sworn they looked just about ready to roll out of that pretty little head of yours." He calmed his laughter and shook his head, "I just can't help but wonder what a girl like you wants with all this firepower."_

_"You can wonder all you like Owen, that is for me to keep safely locked inside." She gave him a serious face, "it's probably for the best anyway, for now this is business, I protect you in order to be trained." She shrugged and then her eyes caught hold of a particularly large weapon standing on a desk. "Is that her?" Lady spoke breathlessly._

_"Sure is." Owen gestured for her to approach and the girl didn't need telling twice. She dashed over to the desk, reaching out both hands, fingers trembling as she lowered them to brush gently along the smooth side of the weapon. It was just how she had imagined it would look like, strong, powerful and filled with determination that mirrored everything she felt inside. This wasn't a weapon that belonged to anyone weak and she knew that with this by her side she would never have to fear anything ever again._

_"It's perfect, I couldn't have imagined it any better."_

_"So what'll you name it then? A fine weapon such as this needs a name with refined dignity."_

_"I've had a name in mind ever since I came up with the design." Lady whispered, fingertips trailing the embossed motif. She could remember even now what she had told Owen to make. A bazooka with a large blast radius that would make clearing a whole group of demons easy. A grappling hook had been fixed to the front, light weight but powerful and essential in enabling her to be more manoeuvrable as well as catch a hold of the enemy. The thing that excited her most about the weapon however was its supposed ability to fire multiple missiles at once. If that didn't knock a dent in the devil forces then she didn't know what would._

_"Does it do everything I asked of it?" She queried as she finally gripped hold of it and heaved it up into her arms. It was incredibly heavy despite being described as 'lightweight' but she knew in time she would be able to use it with no trouble at all._

_"Everything." Owen nodded, a glimmer of pride shining in his milky eyes._

_With a wide grin the girl swung the heavy weapon upwards, shouldering it and spinning around to face him, both hands wrapped firmly around it to keep it from falling. He had never seen her so happy as she had been at that moment, and the simple thought that a gun could make the usually passive girl smile made him nervous. Just what had she been through to render her nameless and emotionless? This world could really be a horrible place._

_"It's perfect, I'll never forget this Owen, for as long as you're here I'll make sure no demons get anywhere near your store." She gave him another of those rare smiles and raised a hand in farewell, turning to head back out into the street._

_"Hey wait up a minute, you never told me what you're gonna call her."_

_Lady paused and curved back her head to glance at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, for a moment there was silence, the young girl simply staring at the older man and then slowly she parted her lips and spoke:_

_"The Kalina Ann," and with that the teen swept from the room._

* * *

Mismatched eyes flickered open to stare at the darkened ceiling above her head and for a moment she was lost in memories of the past, memories that she longed to forget. Why were they taunting her now after all this time? Why couldn't she just move on with her life? Revenge had been handed out and her father was finally in hell where he deserved to be. She sighed and reached up to run her fingers through dark tresses of her hair, wincing at the pain that flared in her arm. The wound reminded her of the latest events to occur in her life, that job she had gone on with Dante and those strange snake demons that had attacked them with such incredible force. The wound on her arm that had been poisoned by those dirty fangs piercing her skin had made her ill with fever, was that the reason she was having these strange dreams? It had to be. 

Satisfied that she had come up with the right answer she shifted once more, a small cry of pain breaking free from her throat as she was reminded of the fatigue that had followed her with this illness. Why was it she always suffered because of that white-haired demon? She gritted her teeth and felt her face burn with the realisation of why she had been distracted. She had been looking at him, watching him fight. She had been entranced by him! Her hands tightened into fists and she sat up, head turning sideways as she caught movement in the corner of her eye.

He was there, leaning back in a chair behind the desk, feet up resting upon the wooden surface as he rocked himself further back. She twitched with irritation, wishing that the legs would fall out beneath him and he would meet painfully with the floor. There was nothing more annoying then an egotistic bastard who couldn't be injured.

His head was bowed forwards so that his chin came to rest against his chest, silver bangs falling in front of his face and hiding his eyes from sight. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and the slight curve of his back was nestled perfectly in the chair. Perhaps he was sleeping?

No such luck.

He tilted his head up as if he had read her thoughts and she caught the twinkling of mischief in his ever youthful eyes as he settled his gaze upon her. For a moment there was an awkward silence hanging around them, consuming it with lengthening amounts of time and then finally he tilted his head further and gave a smirk.

It was still dark, the moonlight - joined by the collection of stars - the only source of light in the room, giving everything a soft and muted highlight. It stroked gently down the demon's hair and filled his eyes with moonbeams, paling his skin further and lighting up his smile so it seemed almost magical. She let out a shuddering breath and swallowed, shifting so that she was sitting up on the couch, choosing to ignore the light spin in her head.

"Bad dream?" He questioned with a chuckle, rocking back a little further on the chair.

Lady glared at him and snorted, "like you would care, why aren't you asleep?"

"Kid's in there." He pointed towards the direction of his now occupied room and shrugged, "I figured she needed rest more than what I did, plus I thought I'd watch over you in case you needed company." His grin widened but Lady shot him her: _'I'm not impressed'_ look and turned her attention to one of the windows, spying the moon through the broken shutters.

"What happened to this place anyway?" She queried, deciding not to just sit in silence. "After dealing with your brother and my father you got it looking pretty good if I remember right."

"Well..." He trailed off and rocked once before continuing. "I was attacked by a gang of vandals in the form of demons, they tend to like wrecking places and since they were looking for me and I was here..." He shrugged and sighed, "I'm beginning to think of moving on anyway, get a new place and start afresh."

"Really?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Well there's nothing much that keeps me here so why not? New place, new people, lots of new girls." He paused and glanced at her, the look on his face slightly disturbing . Was he purposely testing for reactions? Trying to decide whether any of his charm was working on her? She wouldn't dignify that look with a response. After a moment or two he sighed and she heard the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor. A sudden flutter began in her stomach once more and her heart trembled against her ribs as she became aware of his footsteps moving slowly against the floor. Was he coming her way? Finally she tilted her head to glance at him, almost falling sideways as she turned to face his brilliant eyes that were terrifyingly close to her own.

He laughed and moved back, sitting on the couch next to her and stretching out his long legs, curling his hands up to tuck behind his head. The whole casual aura that floated around him was enough to make Lady shift uncomfortably but she just couldn't bring herself to stand up and leave. She wouldn't be able to carry any of her things with her arm injured, especially the Kali...She blinked and did a double take, eyes flickering over the darkened room in search for the bazooka. Where was it anyway? She hadn't noticed it earlier that day when the demons had arrived in the vicinity and had to rely on pistols. Oh no...please. She snapped her eyes back to focus on Dante who was looking at her with a slight frown playing at his features.

"Where is it?" She asked sternly.

"What?"

"The bazooka...Kalina Ann, where is it!" She was on her feet within the next second, towering over him with a dark expression etched into her face.

"Uhh..." The demon shifted sideways and stood, holding up his hands in weak surrender. "Well you see...about that." He laughed and reached forwards, patting her lightly on the shoulder. "Perhaps it's best we talk about this in the morning with the kid asleep and all."

The fuse had been lit and Lady stepped forward, grabbing the taller man by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down to her eye level. When she spoke again her voice was slow and purposeful as if she was desperately trying to keep in all the pent up anger.

"I'm going to give you one chance to tell me what happened and if you fail to do so I'll be forced to hurt you." The fact that Dante was practically invulnerable to any of her attacks seemed to have disappeared from her anger fogged mind.

"I kind of...left it behind when we were attacked by those snake things, you were hurt and whilst I probably could have managed carrying both you and the weapon I kind of forgot." He spoke in such a rush that it took a few moments for Lady to register what had just been said, but when it sank in her face was a picture of fury.

"You IDIOT!" She yelled at the top of her voice, releasing the collar of his shirt and spinning around, moving over to the door at a fast pace.

"Hey wait up, where are you going now?"

"Where do you think? Dante I swear that you are the most stupid person I have ever met. You knew how much that weapon meant to me and you left it behind. Why? Do you like it when I get angry and pissed off? Well?"

"I don't think you'd like my answer to that one." He shrugged and a smile twitched at his features at her exasperated sigh. The next moment saw her out of the door with the silver-haired demon running to catch up with her. It didn't take him too much effort and he had no intention of letting her go by herself in her weakened state, and without a weapon to protect herself with.

"Leave me alone." She snapped angrily as she jogged along the path, too dizzied to go much faster than the pace she had already set. The cool air had made her exceptionally light headed and even worse was the feeling that she was being watched. She glanced back over her shoulder and then raised her eyes to meet with Dante's. "Should you really leave the kid in the house by herself?"

"Ah no one knows she's there, plus I'm sure if she tried hard enough she could creep those demons out no problem." He smiled, a flash of white teeth revealed in the moonlight as he kept up with her.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Lady muttered, eyes narrowing as she continued onwards, trying desperately not to think of what would happen if she couldn't find the Kalina Ann. It had to be there, it just had to be! Tears blotted her eyes and she ducked her head so that her fellow demon couldn't see the emotions inflicting her because of a weapon. He wouldn't understand, no one would ever understand what that weapon had meant to her.

She sniffed quietly and reached up, rubbing at her eyes with her hand before raising her head once more, daring a glance at Dante. Good, he hadn't noticed her little emotional outburst, that would save a lot of questioning.

"You know...sometimes it's best to let go of the past." Dante spoke, his voice unusually serious. "Holding onto something that can't be changed can never be healthy." He turned compassionate eyes to her and she looked at him in mild surprise. She hadn't seen this side of the devil before and it made her wonder if perhaps he was more like her then she could ever imagine.

"What are you suggesting?"

"If you find it, perhaps you should discard it entirely."

"That weapon isn't just something that protects my life you know. It's filled with memories too, ones I don't want to forget."

"You need a weapon to remember them? That's just crap and you know it. You're always going on at me about how stupid I am, well wake up and smell the roses babe cos you aren't the sharpest tack in the box either."

Lady paused mid-step, coming to a complete halt in the middle of the road, her head lowered suddenly and mismatched eyes misted with sadness. Dante didn't know what he was talking about...did he? Then why did it hurt so much? She wanted to curl up and hide away, wanted to fade into nothing and be forgotten. She wanted her weapon back because it protected her, because it held memories, but the devil had made a valid point...did she really need it to hold her past for her? The answer was clearly no, so why hadn't she seen it before?

She sniffed and reached up to rub at her eyes again, not wanting any tears to fall free from their place in her glistening orbs. She just wanted to see her mother again, talk to her and find out whether she was proud of her daughter. What would she think of her now? Standing here next to a demon with the blood of many staining her hands. She had done the world good, right? Ridding the place of the foul creatures that had slunk up from the bowels of hell had to be a good thing! She wouldn't hear of it any other way.

She felt something brush against her hip and she tensed suddenly, the feeling of warm, safe arms encircling her waist and tugging her closer. Her heart flipped and she felt herself lean forwards, body held comfortingly against that of the demon she should hate, so why was it she felt nothing of the sort for this one? What had made Dante so enticingly different from all others she had fought before? At that moment she didn't rightly care, instead turning and burying her face against his chest, the warmth of his body enough to lull her into a sense of calm.

Before she even knew what she was doing, her own arms had risen up to hold him in return, one looping around his slim waist, the other creeping up to clutch the material between his shoulder blades. All rational thought was wiped from her mind as his grip tightened about her and the tears welled dangerously in her eyes, finally coming loose and trailing down her face, soaking into his crimson shirt. Her body shuddered as she tried to contain a sob and then finally she gave up fighting her emotions. Her fingers tightened their grip on his shirt and she pressed her face more firmly against him, smothering the sobs into the red material. Half of her mind was asking why on earth she was doing this, why was she holding him in return? Why was she crying so freely, and in front of him? Had she finally been driven mad by everything that had happened to her?

Her eyes fluttered closed, eyelashes tickling against her cheeks as she felt his fingertips stroke the hair away from her face, a sensual and delicate touch that caused the butterflies in her stomach to jitter with anticipation. What was he doing? Why did her heart ache like this? Why did she feel the sudden desperate urge to never let go? Could this really be something more than friendship?

His fingers came to stroke down the curve of her cheek, brushing away the tears that had fallen free, and without conscious knowledge she leaned into his touch, a sigh brushing between her lips at the effort.

Dante smiled very slightly, one arm still tightly wrapped around her waist to stop her from getting away in case she came to her senses and realised just who it was who had a hold of her. He had never seen her in such an emotional state before and he found the whole experience rather disturbing, especially since he had vowed to make her smile. It seemed that by striving for it he had done the complete opposite and had made her cry. What was so special about that gun anyway? It was just a hunk of heavy metal that made things explode, I mean sure, that sort of firepower could be quite fun but really...was it worth crying over?

The moon was sheathed by a band of thick cloud and both were cloaked with darkness, a sudden chill air settling upon them. Lady shuddered and as if the cold air had been the sign for the spell to finally break she moved away, tucking her arms up against her chest as she stepped out of the circle of his arms.

"You're right, although I hate to admit it." She said softly and continued to walk in the direction they had been going before she had stopped. Her feet moved quietly along the ground, head held defiantly high and eyes staring straight ahead. The small scar that ran across the bridge of her nose was picked out as the moon peeked out from behind the clouds once more. Dante had always wondered where she had gotten the small wound from, perhaps out demon hunting or maybe from her father. She didn't talk much about her past and apart from the little fact he had gained from her at Temen-ni-gru he knew nothing about what had happened to her during the parentless years of childhood. How young had she been at the time anyway? Had she spent her whole life alone?

He moved closer to her as they walked and raised one arm, loosely draping it over her shoulders, finding himself startled as she ducked out from beneath it and sent him a frosty look. What was up with the moody bitch now? She had been crying in his arms just a few moments before and now she was giving him the evil eye. Why were women always so god damn complicated! They were a lot more trouble than they were worth that was for sure.

"What's up with you now?" He frowned and continued after her.

"You think that after you do one nice thing in trying to comfort me you can claim me as a sort of prize for being a sensitive guy for a change." She shot back, not looking at him.

"That's a load of crap and you know it." He snarled, "I guess the fact that I actually like you isn't important right now is it?" He reached out to grab at her shoulder and tugged her around to face him.

"Let me g--" Her eyes widened a little and she found herself glancing up to look at him. Had he just said that he…liked her? Get a grip! Like, not love, LIKE! She staggered back away from him and narrowed her eyes.

"Listen, I know I can be a bit of an ass at times." He grinned, "but I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk about stuff then..." He jabbed his thumb towards his chest, "I'm your guy." He rolled his eyes as she gave no reaction and continued to walk, knowing that she would follow.

"What makes you think I have stuff to talk about?" She retaliated, quickening her pace to catch up and walk beside him. Perhaps he was more perceptive than she had first believed, there was so much about him she had underestimated.

"Well there's things like your past that you seem to keep to yourself, it can't be healthy and I can't help but wonder about things like that. Whatever happened to you has turned you into a vindictive, ruthless young woman, and that can't be good. Oh yeah and the small fact that you won't even tell me your name.

"I told you I don't have one."

"Yeah? Well I don't believe that for a second. Your mother must have called you something and I intend to find out what."

"Well there's no way you're getting it out of me, and the only other people who knew of it are dead." She paused and sighed at the look on his face. "Listen...that name, that person is dead. I don't want to return to those days where I went by the name my parents gave me...my father gave me." Her eyes narrowed and she frowned.

Dante raised a brow and glanced down at her, the new snippet of information letting him in on her past a little more. So she had thrown away her name in order to rid herself of all connections she had with her father? He shrugged and lowered his head as he walked, the chill of night not really affecting him as he went.

"You...you lost your mother too...didn't you?" Lady spoke softly as they walked side by side, arm brushing against his every now and then.

"Yeah but that was a loooong time ago." He tilted his head to the side to look at her and smiled very slightly, "family can be a pain sometimes, take my brother for instance; he's so completely different from me and we're twins."

"Well of course." She laughed quietly, "Psychos aren't usually mindless, jabbering idiots."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that, shall I?" He gave her a crooked grin and then lowered his voice. "We're nearly there, we should keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary." He reached out, fingers wrapping around one of Lady's wrists as he moved to take the lead, tugging her close behind him as he went. Using the shadows for cover they both slunk silently up the alley and out into the town center once more. The statue was there as usual, its metallic structure overlooking the empty streets that surrounded it with emotionless and empty eyes. For a moment the two companions stood and checked the area before deciding it was okay to move out into the open. They did so cautiously but moved fluidly together, keeping as close as possible without hindering each other's movements.

"I can't see it." Lady said in dismay, eyes trailing over the ground, trying desperately to pick up the glint of metal caught by the moonlight. Nothing.

"There's something else here." Dante spoke in a hushed voice, reaching up to grab the sword from itssheath only to find his fingers brush against nothing but thin air. What? Shit! He had left his sword behind with his coat. Great that's all he needed, they could be ambushed at any time and the only weapons they had to protect them were the pistols that never left his sides. Could be worse...

"Uhh Lady we might have a problem." He pointed over to one of the darkest corners of the city, a flash of eyes appearing for a brief moment. "Looks like we have company and I left my sword back at the house." He grinned and grabbed a pistol in each hand, raising them up to eye level and moving to stand in front of Lady. "Let's hope they didn't find that bazooka before we did, otherwise this could turn out to be a rather explosive meeting, if you catch my drift." He turned his head back to glance at her and winked before returning his attention ahead, just in time to catch sight of seven demons as they teleported a few meters ahead of him.

"Okay! We're in business!"

* * *

Nyoka shifted in his crouched position and straightened his body, forked tongue flickering between dark lips as he scented the air. The devil and the human wench were close together as he had expected them to be. He himself had made it his number one priority to keep a close eye on the pair, watch them grow closer so that he could carry out his master's plan. 

His eyes narrowed beneath a serpent smile and he just managed to give a silent chuckle as he lowered his cloaked body and crept forward silently, keen eyes picking out the shapes of the two he had been following. So far it seemed everything was going to plan and despite a few hiccups at the beginning the girl had been given the cure and was on the mend - but not for long. Oh no, she would indeed die, but only when the time was right, only after the pair had admitted their feelings for each other. How the _Mightier One_ had known that the two shared great affections for each other was beyond him, having never dealt with matters of the heart, but he trusted him completely. It did seem true, especially now that he was setting his eyes on the embracing couple in the street, their forms picked out gently under the caress of the moon.

He raised his head and parted his jaws making a silent cry to his minions as the two targets began to walk towards the town center and he moved silently after them onsilent feet. He moved with an incredible stealth and then after a briefmoment or two his body flickered from sight, becoming invisible to the eye.

* * *

The piercing gun shots rang out as the lithe devil twisted around to fill the coming onslaught with lead, the air filled with strangled cries and Lady's warning came too late as another snake beast teleported into battle behind him, stabbing him in the back with a blunt but evil looking blade. 

The devil swung round,chucking one pistol into the air to free his hand briefly whilst he reached back and grabbed the demon from his back, throwing the struggling beast just in time to catch the pistol and continue shooting. The wound in his back healed up and he flexed his shoulders before moving to stand near Lady once more. The situation was not impossible but it was getting complicated and it wasn't ideal for the way he liked to fight. He was used to being alone, not having to worry about anything but himself, now however he had to protect a human woman who had no way of defending herself. The enemy was constantly growing in number and becoming more active with their fighting which was making it rather difficult to attack back.

He sighed and turned his head back just in time to see Lady wrestling with another one of the snake demons, once again the creature was trying to bite her, its serpentine jaws parted, glistening fangs extending as it prepared to sink them into human flesh. She pushed it back and dropped to the ground, extending a leg and using her palms to spin herself around, knocking the demon from its feet. Dante ended the motion by shooting the creature twice, its twisted body turning to ash before their very eyes.

"I was handling it." Lady muttered under her breath, just loud enough for the demon to hear before he felt a sharp twinge of a blade tearing across his unprotected side. He whirled around, cracking the butt of the pistol across the unlucky snake's head and sending it crumpling backwards.

"That'll teach yah to sneak up on a devil."Dante yelled angrily, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Lady was alright before throwing himself into the group of demons. "I'll be right back!" He yelled, ignoring any protest she might have made. He lowered his position as he ran, arms held steady as he fired off rounds into the group of demons that festered after him, his feet moved faster against the ground; his image becoming something more of a blur. Before him a clock tower rose upwhich wouldblock any normal human for continuing, however Dante with his quick wits decided to use this obstacle to his advantage.

A violent fire erupted in his veins, a tingling sensation flowing through his entire being and suddenly his pace seemed to quicken, a delicious pain searing through his body. He laughed out loud and threw back his head, crouching just before he leapt upwards, turning his body to allow himself to run up the wall of the clock tower. After dashing upwards a good ten meters in the air he kicked off from the brick wall and sent himself flipping backwards, no longer human but a crimsondemon; a true devil! His very form seemed to glow with a demonic essence, pointed wings spread behind him as he soared behind the gang of demons and opened fire upon them. With every shot a demon fell dead and even as clawed feet met with the ground he revealed in their paind cries.

Then suddenly his ears rang with an unexpected explosion anda brilliant light blinded him, almost knocking himoff balance. It seemed things were just getting started and his power was draining fast.

* * *

to be continued... 

oh and just a note...I once again ran out of time to proof read this properly, but I'm pretty sure there aren't too many mistakes.

AA


	6. Tender Moments

Disclaimer - I don't, won't and never have owned Devil May Cry.

* * *

AN 

Yay, well the weather is hot, the pollen is flying and woo hoo I'm blessed with the wonderful qualities of hay fever...heh well anyway here I am again. I must warn you that this chapter isn't very long, it's a sort of interlude before the final couple of chapters just to prepare you.

Aoi Senshi - ooo a live journal. I don't have one at the moment but I suppose I could. Also the link doesn't show up on would you be able to email it to me or something? Anyway I'm glad you are liking this still, the last chapter was definitely one of my favourites, let's just hope I can keep it up, eh? Thanks for your review!

Munching apples - wow you read 7 fan fictions? I have to admit I don't read many, I tend to focus my attention on writing and by the time I've updated a chapter it's straight to working on the next one so not much time for me. Perhaps after this I'll take a break and actually read some. Well anyway back to the fic, I guess I had to get rid of the freaky kid cos otherwise Lady and Dante probably never would have done anything to get closer, and I expect most people are killing for a bit or romance at the moment. She will be back in this chapter though briefly so don't worry about that. Yes...and I found out that the typos happened when I'm typing in a few extra words to flesh out a sentence once I've already uploaded, so I'll try not to do that anymore, especially since it leaves out the spaces between words which is more than annoying. I hope this chapter will be just as good, if not better. Thanks for your review! As always it s much appreciated.

Sasha - Thanks for your sweet review and here is the next chapter, till next time!

Kiki0303 - Thanks for your review, much appreciated. Here's the next chapter, I just hope you enjoy it just as much.

G - Thanks for your review, hope all the exams and stuff are going well, I'm almost done with mine. I might do a bit of both types of romance like you said actually, I guess I'll see how I'm feeling at the time.

Didi kat - Eep is Dante not actually older then? I just assumed that cos the whole sealing of hell happened 2000 years before the game and that Sparda himself was trapped then they must have been conceived before then. Or have I gotten that wrong too? It wouldn't be the first time that has happened if it is, I tend to not pay attention to the details, heh heh. Oh and Lady knowing that Dante is half human...well let's just say that they spoke about that off scenes or something. But yes thanks for your review, it helped me realise that I really DO need to pay attention. Till next time!

Goddess - Wow thanks for your review, I'm glad you are enjoying this, it's so fun to write so I'm glad others are here who can read it and enjoy it too. Oh yes and I do like to leave chapters like that, it makes it easier to write the next one! Oh and the romance thing...well I'm still not sure, maybe a bit of both? Hmm guess I'll surprise myself as well as my reviewers, eh?

Cassandra - Thanks for your review, and here is the next chapter for you.

Raven - Aww thanks for your lovely review, I'm glad you like how I write it, it means so much to me you wouldn't believe. Well here is the next update.

Shammoo - You read them all in one go? Wow congrats to you, I'm not sure if I could ever do that. Hugs are fluffy indeed and that's what I like to write about so I'm hoping to put some more of that cute romance stuff in this chapter, and yes I agree, the game wasn't intended for little kids so best to keep it with the adult feel.

Dragua - Wow thanks so much for your review, it's nice to know people enjoy reading what I write, it really does help me keep working through a block. I went to check my reviews during my sort of bleugh stage in this chapter and yours really motivated me to get it finished. I've almost finished this chapter now, but I'll try and stick in some more Dante POV, there'll probably be a lot more in the last couple of chapters. Thanks again!

* * *

Chapter 6 

Lady's eyes widened as she watched the transformation progress before her, a shiver of fear lancing up her spine from where she stood. She had only seen this side of the hybrid once before; during their duel at Temen-ni-gru when she had been on the receiving end of those blows. Now however the situation was different, he was using his majestic strength to protect her. Protect her! She couldn't help but smile a little at this, her heart fluttering with delight at the very concept. Even now she could remember clearly the fierce glow of his eyes, the pointed demonic wings, the elegance of his lithe and crimson frame. It was a beauty so dangerous and terrifying that it simply enchanted her, a rare sight which was a pleasure to the eyes.

Yet the point that also remained in her mind is that he never remained in the state for long. It seemed to drain him of energy much faster than if he remained in his human form, but even though this flaw hindered him, the rewards were unmistakable. When in his true demon form his movements and strength were increased ten fold.

Her eyes followed his blurred actions as he moved up the side of the clock tower, tumbling backwards effortlessly, arms outstretching and pistols blaring; shooting time quickened considerably. A dance of death performed by a devil.

It was only then that she noticed the glimmer of metal in the corner of her eye, and saw the smooth shape of the Kalina Ann. Her weapon...in the filthy hands of a demon! How dare it! A sickening fury raced wildly through her, muscles contracting painfully as she fought to control the anger that was raging inside of her. The weapon she had used to destroy so many of its kind were now in the hands of the enemy...being fired by the enemy!

Her eyes traced its smooth flight as the projectile left the chamber of the bazooka and seared through the air. Her throat felt thick and dry and her eyes could not release it for a moment as she watched on helplessly. The missile met with the ground, a dull thud echoing in her ears followed by a louder explosion and a great mushroom of blackened smoke.

Dante! Where was he? A panic filled her body with a cold dread and she moved forwards automatically, reaching up to cover her mouth with one hand as she tried to protect her lungs from the choking smoke. Her terror was short-lived however as the blackened clouds swirled away, revealing the half demon standing tall, hands gripping the pistols as he waited for the smoke to clear completely. No longer was he in his devil form, but once again in the body of a human and although he appeared to be unharmed his breathing had slipped into something more ragged than usual. Had he over done it this time? Flashbacks of the battle between Dante, Vergil and her father soared through her mind, both twins weakened and unable to strike a hit upon the bastard she had once called _'papa'_. She wouldn't let it happen this time! No demon would get the better of her or Dante!

She moved swiftly to his side, reaching out tentatively with one hand and gripping at one crimson sleeve to get his attention. He barely noticed her however and after taking a glance at his face directed her own gaze in the direction he was looking. At first her mismatched orbs picked out nothing and then finally she caught movement and noticed the demon who had hold of her weapon. She scowled and moved to take a step forward, only to be blocked by the devil's outstretched arm.

"Wait." He said quietly and she felt compelled to listen, it wasn't often that he spoke in such a serious tone.

"Ssso, my massster was right when he sssaid you had terrific powersss." The creature spoke, dark tongue flicking slightly as he observed the two through his slitted eyes. There was no fear in its voice, but a sense of lingering amusement as if it had the upper hand on them. Dante tensed and straightened, a look of annoyance dancing across his features as he lowered both pistols in attempt to gain control of the situation once more. It seemed things had fluctuated greater than even he felt comfortable with. Talking snakes, weird little kids and young women who were driving him crazy tended to do that to a person.

"Listen snake, I've had just about enough of you, how about you just crawl off back under the rock you came out from?" He directed with a wave of his hand and tightened his grip on the pistols.

"No, no, no devil boy, I think it'sss time for you to ssstep back and lisssten to me." The snake chuckled, translucent eyelids sliding over his serpentine eyes as he lowered his form and stepped aside revealing a hidden figure behind him. "Look familiar?" He asked with a wide smirk, clawed hand reaching out to snatch at the child who had been standing silently behind him.

"Hey it's that creepy kid. What are you doing here, eh?" Dante demanded angrily.

The girl raised her head, pale skin almost glowing under the moon's touch as she stared silently back at Dante. There appeared to be something different about her now, a glint in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Tears perhaps? The devil narrowed his eyes and glanced between the snake and girl, bristling with irritation at this new turn of events. Great! Now he had to protect a bitchy woman and a creepy girl from being killed, why the hell did he care so much anyway? Things were just getting better and better...

"You ssshouldn't have been ssso carelesss my friend." The snake grinned, "ssshe was quite easssy to find, asssleep in the room like that." He extended a clawed finger, stroking its pointed edge against the side of the girl's cheek in a malicious caress. The girl seemed to have no reaction for this however, eyes continuing to stare ahead blankly. Where was her fear? It seemed to have been snatched from her, or maybe she was just too afraid to do much else then stand completely still. Either way it had to be better than being faced with a panicked child who wouldn't shut up. If that had been the case Dante might have been tempted to shoot the child himself.

"So what, take her if that's what you want." Dante smirked in return, shrugging and ignoring the enraged look Lady was sending him. "She creeps me out anyway."

"You bastard! How can you say that so casually?" Lady snapped, and made to move past him only to be tugged sharply backwards.

"I thought I told you to stay." Dante said in a lowered voice, one arm wrapping around her to keep her hugged up against his side. "Just trust me okay, play it cool and don't butt in, got that?" Satisfied that the woman would now listen to him he slowly released her and moved a few steps closer to where the snake stood. "Okay freak, tell me what you want and get this meeting over with already will ya?"

"What I want?" The snake demon pondered for a moment or two, "I wisssh to pleassse the massster."

"Okay, okay great." Dante shook his head, "care to enlighten us on this so-called master?" The snake did not reply, instead turned his attention once more upon the girl, the bazooka lay at his feet now, the moon caressing along its smooth side. Obviously the beast felt quite comfortable and safe in their presence, this had to be some sort of a trap surely.

"Humansss..." The snake mused aloud. "Sssuch weak little creaturesss, bodiesss easssily broken, flame of life easssily quenched..." He turned his gaze once more upon Dante, then let it trail slowly to Lady who took an unconscious step back from his prying gaze. She felt chilled, as if he could see right into her soul, capture her weaknesses in its mind and use them against her. "Don't you think ssso, devil?" Nyoka hissed wickedly.

"I don't take kindly to threats." Dante replied somewhat darkly.

"One little bite and thisss child will die..." The snake chuckled and stepped forwards, black cloak flapping back to reveal the scaled, grotesque body beneath. "Or you could lisssten to my proposssal."

Dante arched a brow, twirling both pistols around a finger before jamming them into the holsters and looking semi-interested in what the snake was going to say. He had never really stopped to talk to many demons, killing first and asking questions later more often than not. He supposed he could make an exception this time, even if the creature's voice did get on his nerves.

"Okay but hurry it up, I don't like talking to creatures who haven't mastered the skill of pronouncing their words."

Nyoka chose to ignore the insult, huffed and continued with his job. "My massster wissshesss to meet with you. If you accept thisss then the child will walk free after negotiationsss are concluded...but...if you decide to go againssst my massster's wissshesss then I have permisssion to exterminate the girl and your woman."

"Oh really, and what makes you think I'd stand here and let you do that?" Dante smirked and reached for the pistols once more, pausing as the snake reached out with his clawed hand to grab the bazooka from his feet.

"You wouldn't have a choice in the matter devil." The snake replied simply, lidding his eyes as he lifted the child up from her feet and slung her over one scaled, bony shoulder. "Now...do you accept?"

After a casual glance at Lady and sensing her anger he turned back and spoke his answer; "sure why not." The silver-haired demon shrugged, a grin curving the corners of his mouth, "just tell him it better be worth my while."

"Oh I can promissse you it will be." The lizard hissed in amusement, "When he isss ready for your arrival a messsage will be sssent." He stepped back, one hand gripping the child with a vice like grip and the other holding the bazooka. Lady flinched as she sensed his departure and it took all her willpower to stop herself from trying to get her weapon back.

_'Let it go...'_

The voice rang in her head and she bit on her bottom lip, wincing a little as she was reminded of the wound there. None of this would have happened to her if she had just stayed away from Dante, and it riled her up that she was so drawn to him. She frowned and took another step back, drawing in a shaky breath to try and cool her temper, she would let it be known how she was feeling but until the snake was gone she would hold her tongue.

As if on cue the demon threw back his head and gave a gargled cry, his form rippling from sight like the wave of an ocean. The child's form faded too, the look of her large, emotionless eyes staring at them until the very last moment. Then finally silence fell upon the remaining two, the woman bubbling with anger and the devil shrugging casually before turning to glance at her.

"Cool it babe, we'll get the gun back." He moved to pat his hand against her shoulder but she roughly tugged away.

"I'm going home." She told him sharply, straightening and moving across the road, shoulders tensed as she tried to control the fury of temper that was dancing inside of her. She had achieved nothing from this little venture, no weapon, no dead demon, no saving of the child, no nothing! She wanted to blame it on Dante, the stupid devil that he was, but she couldn't. She could do nothing but blame herself for what had happened, if she had chosen to forget the weapon then the kid would still be safe and that snake freak wouldn't have had the pleasure of mocking them.

"Hey, there's no way I'm letting you go off alone in that condition." Dante said playfully as he moved to walk along beside her.

"What condition? I'm fine now, no thanks to you." She spoke through gritted teeth, her exhaled breath turning into a squeak of pain as Dante applied pressure to the wound on her arm. "What was that for?" She demanded, whirling round upon him.

"To prove that I'm right, nothing gets past this devil." He jabbed at his chest with an extended thumb, a smirk crossing his face. She shook her head defiantly and tried to push past him only to find the floor disappearing from beneath her feet. It took her a moment to realise that her position had changed dramatically from standing on the floor to being slung over one broad shoulder. Her eyes widened and her hands tightened into fists as she brought them to beat down on his back, he would not treat her like an object he could throw about!

"Let me go right now!" She yelled angrily, however the white-haired devil seemed to pay no attention to her protests and continued to make back to his home. There was no way he had spent all that time making sure she didn't come to harm only to watch her go off by herself. Why couldn't she just get it through her head that he was doing these things for her own good? Irritation raced through his own veins as he made his way along the path, feeling the rhythmic thump of her fists hammering against his back. Finally he paused mid-step and brought himself to a complete halt, releasing a held breath through his teeth. Blue eyes trailed up to the star-scattered sky and followed the short-lived path of a shooting jewel, its tail streaking out behind it until it was blotted out by a cloud. The moon seemed to have had a bite taken out of it, the surface dappled with visible craters and its crescent shape haloed with a misty glow. Perfect.

"Listen Lady, for once I'm going to do what's best for you." He said softly, releasing his hold on her and letting her slender body fall once again to the floor; her feet making contact with the cobbled pathway. He lowered his gaze to capture her own, mismatched eyes strangely sensual in the pale light. She had the eyes of her father, a rare oddity that he had not seen in many humans; like two people trapped inside one body. One half of her was that feisty demon killer who had not a hint of mercy inside of her, the other half? Well he had yet to discover that, but he was positive that it was the sensitive and delicate woman that was being hidden away. He admired her strength, her ability to hide weakness but it irritated him that she felt the need to do so in his company. Hadn't she learnt to trust him after all they had been through together? He had helped her get revenge upon her father, he had stopped her from falling to her death over a crumbling pathway, he had carried her to safety when she had been poisoned. Was she just incapable of trusting anyone? Well he would show her, he would prove to her that no matter how much of an idiot he could be he was also a trustworthy friend.

"So you're going to let me go home?" Lady asked, a hint of confusion visible in her eyes. He found that expression rather endearing for her, much better than that angry frown she usually wore. Moonlight spilled down the short length of her dark hair, highlighting it with an elegant and rare beauty, her pale skin seemed almost porcelain and contrasting eyes softened slightly even as he looked on.

"No." He finally replied, reaching up with one hand to cradle her face in his palm, her skin was soft just as he had known it would be, and the smallest of smiles tugged at the corners of his mouth at her expression. She looked positively shocked, and the confusion lingering in her orbs was overwhelming her entire being. There, that was the innocent vulnerability he had wanted to find locked away inside of her.

With the same hand he traced his thumb over the indentation of the old scar that graced the bridge of her nose, a loving touch that caused her body to tremble and in that moment he moved closer, the other arm snaking around her body to stop her from getting away. There, now she was trapped here with him, locked in a devil's embrace that he would make sure she never forgot.

"Dante..." Her voice was a husky whisper, spoken between trembling lips and even as she spoke it he was leaning forwards to capture her. She would be his by the time the sun was rising above the horizon, she would never want to leave his side, she would feel truly safe.

No more words were spoken then, his lips coming to brush against hers tentatively at first, one hand still cradling the side of her face to hold her in place. She tensed in his arms reflexively and tried to squirm free, giving up only when his arm tightened around her, this was it, he had her and slowly she began to relax.

Lady felt as if she was standing in a world of dreams, surely this couldn't be happening to her, things like this didn't happen to violent demon hunters like her! What would her mother say if she could see her now? Locking lips with a devil was hardly something that would get you a ticket into heaven now, was it? She closed her eyes tightly and tried to cut this thought in two, who cares where she ended up when she was no more! What was the point of only living half a life, what was the point of not taking a few risks? She smiled slightly against his mouth and brought herself up to stand on tip-toe, reaching up to curl her arms around his neck to bring him closer. His masculine scent filled her nostrils and sent her mind into overload, this truly was happening!

Her mouth pressed more firmly against his, a confirmation that she had accepted the gesture he had given and was enjoying it more than she had expected. Dante smiled too, pulling her closer against him, and feeling the warmth of her body against his. It had been a while since he had been like this with anyone, but even then it hadn't felt like this. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, feel her fingers creeping up to lace through the tresses of his silver hair. The sensation of her mouth moving against his drove him almost insane and he tried to urge her into a deeper kiss.

* * *

"You have done well Nyoka." The _Mightier One's_ voice spoke smoothly from his place on an overlooking rooftop. 

"I sssimply did as you asssked massster." The snake bowed his head from his place beside the other, child lying at his feet, her small body slumped over the bazooka. "What do you plan to do with her?" He risked the question, desperate to satisfy his curiosity. There were still many things he did not know about this other higher demon, but he thought it better not to ask too many things at once. There was one thing he did know and that was the deadly effect the master's temper had on those who aggravated him.

"I will make her suffer, she will writhe in agony until the end, then I shall sit back and watch Dante suffer, he shall wish for death before the end, and I shall be the one who grants it to him."

"What makesss you think he will react ssso badly towardsss her death massster?"

"You see them there as clearly as I do snake, she makes up an extensive portion of his heart whether he likes it or not." He directed towards the love struck pair in the street below with a nod of his head, their distant figures highlighted by the moon's touch.

"I fear thisss may backfire, and in harming her you awaken sssomething inssside of him more fierce than we have yet to witness." The snake said fearfully, black tongue flicking out to lick at his dry, scaled lips. "I sssaw today a devil with tremendousss and terrifying powersss."

"You doubt my skills?"

"N-never! Please forgive me massster, I did not mean to make offence." He bowed his head apologetically and backed up a little from where the _Mightier One_ stood.

"Take the girl, the weapon and get out of my sight, I shall call for you when the time is right." He snapped and turned his back to Nyoka, a sign the conversation was closed, and up above the stars twinkled down upon them, the inky sea of the heavens bleeding into the shadows that consumed them from sight. Give a few more hours and the black would fade into grey in the beginnings of a new day.

"Enjoy this moment whilst it lasts Dante son of Sparda, for it will not last forever." His threat however, went unheard.

to be continued...

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	7. Clashing Hearts

Disclaimer - I don't own Devil May Cry, it belongs rightfully to Capcom and always will. 

AN

I am so sorry for making you all wait so long, I truly am. My excuse? Well my computer died for a month and during that time I found myself without any ability to get online, or to even get on word pad to write out the next chapter. Then finally when we figured out what was wrong and got it fixed I was completely out of the DMC zone. All inspiration was drained from me, and I couldn't remember what I'd written or where I wanted to go with it.

However after coming back to f. net and reading new reviews I decided to give it another try and write a chapter for you.

I can't promise it will be any good, but I WILL do my best.

Thank you for being so patient with me!

Thanks to reviewers:

Aoi Senshi - Oooo yes they kissed alright, and yes it's about time they did. Now I just gotta figure out what their reactions will be afterwards which is gonna be tough. I'm glad you are still liking it and I'll do my best to cram in even more lovey dovey stuff this time. Thanks for your review.

Censes - bwa ha ha! Oh I love keeping secrets, but yes the evil dude will either be revealed this chapter or the one afterwards depending on how fast things progress. I'm glad you are enjoying what I have so far, and thanks for your review.

Draqua -Yes the last chapter was short, and I did feel a bit guilty submitting it like that, but I was afraid if I fleshed any sections out then I might ruin the flow of it and I hate doing that as well so…I'll try and make it up to you with this chapter and write a lot of different things, flashbacks etc… Flashbacks are my number one thing to write so that was probably why the last chapter was so short, it never had one. Thanks for your review, tis much appreciated.

Kiki0303 - Yay for Dante and Lady! Thanks for your review and here is the update for you!

Cassandra - Aww thank you, the kiss scene was nice to write since I don't do too many, it made a nice change. Thanks for your review!

Goddess - Thank you so much for your review, it was so sweet and makes me so happy. I try my best to make sure that I know each character very well before I start writing, and I'm so glad that they haven't shifted into OOC'ness. Getting reviews like yours makes it all the more worthwhile!

Chewing Apple Macintosh - are those healthy for eating? -sniggers- let's hope so! Anyways, thanks for your review once more, hearing your point of view on things really helps me write better. Oh and your reviews are always high standards, it's good to have someone who is able to give constructive criticism every now and then, I know that when I review - on that very rare occasion - I always try and give something for the writer to improve on, because let's face it; no one is perfect. Anyway enough of that and back to your review, I'm firstly glad to see that you enjoyed the last chapter, I was a bit worried that due to it's shortness people might be discouraged by it. For some strange reason I had a huge block with the last chapter and then for some reason I couldn't log into - that seems to be happening a lot lately - and that deterred me further. I knew I wanted them to finally face up to their feelings so I can set them up for later but that was my only focus, and it wasn't really enough for me to develop a nice chunky chapter. I am also extremely relieved to hear that I didn't muck up their embrace, I was so nervous that maybe I had rushed it or that it didn't make sense, this sort of thing isn't usually my speciality. I'm guessing there is maybe two or three more chapters, depending on how much I fit into each one, but I'm sure to write more afterwards, the DMC section is filled with such friendly people! Until next time! I'd also like to apologise for the long wait.

Nejithecagedbird -Welcome to the world of DMC fan fiction, I'm pretty new here myself after watching and playing DMC 3 only a month or so ago. There are plenty of good fics here and the people are very nice so I'm sure you'll enjoy your time reading and reviewing people. I'm glad you like what I have and your reviews mean a lot to me, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

Ralph - Thanks for your nice review and here is the next chapter, I'm glad you are enjoying it so far.

Raven - Oh thank you sooo much for your review, I'm glad all my characters are believable, I try and put all my attention into that because reading fics with OOC-ness really annoys me. Here is the next chapter for you.

Kail Angelfire - I'm glad you are enjoying it and I'll try not to make you or the others wait too long for updates. I agree with your point of view on the romance side, and I'm considering doing a one-shot fic afterwards that will take place during this fic as a little extra thing for people who like the heavier romance, it probably won't be to an extreme, but definitely more than what is written here. That'll probably be my next project anyway. Thanks for your review!

Beowulf69 - woo! my friends never understood why I loved the Beowulf boss so much, I always thought that he looked so cute! Anyway sorry for that random moment, but…you've completed it on DMD mode? Wow you must have some talent! I'm on level 8 of that mode at the moment, and I have to admit I'm finding it very hard, I'm dreading the last couple of bosses though, especially Vergil since he recovers health when he's in devil trigger which is going to be a pain. The characters were definitely very nice indeed, Lady was the tough girl that I really liked, Dante was such a crazy fool and Vergil was just so cool, so I'll agree with you there. Thanks for your review, and I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Shamoo - Eep I used to update quickly, not so much anymore though! I apologise! And thanks for your review!

Shadowsonic137 - mature ratings aren't bad, I'll see what I can do for yah.

WilliamDafoe - Sorry for the long wait and I'm glad you like the decisions I have taken. Thanks for your review!

EyeoftheTigerKissoftheDragon - Thanks for your review and sorry for the wait.

Camron - Your review was just amazing! I can fully appreciate what you mean and it makes me really happy that you spent your time conveying your thoughts to me. Criticism like that doesn't come everyday, but when it does I try my very best to act upon it. The main reason I have kept the villain a secret however was because I was split between two decisions and have still not quite decided on what one to go with. Hopefully that will change with this chapter. Thanks again!

Anonymous - Here's the update, sorry for making you wait so long!

Stephanie - I'm glad you liked this story, I read your review and decided that it was worth continuing after all, so thank you!

Dan Klosterman - I was so happy when I read you review, I always try my very best to make my stuff detailed - sometimes too much however - I am thoroughly glad you are enjoying it so thanks!

Ann - I'll try my best to get it finished, I am feeling inspired again that's for sure.

- I shall finish it! I promise! Thanks for your review!

Lady 102 - Here's your update and thanks for your review, sorry about the wait though.

Haru - Update is finally here! Thanks for urging me to continue!

Arianni - Welcome to my fan fiction and I'm glad you like it, I have been slow with my update but here it is! I hope you find it as enjoyable as my other chapters!

KOX -Your wait for the update is over! Here it is! Thanks for your review.

Sesshy's Soulmate - Update for you! Thanks for your review! Heh heh I rhymed!

Phew…lots of reviewers, thanks so much and I apologise again for the long wait.

* * *

Chapter 7 

_The swirl of smoke rose up into the sky, shadowed fingers coiling upwards like a mass of dark-skinned snakes. The scent of burning wood was powerful enough to alert all those around to the blazing inferno that was tearing through the human inhabitants, and sure enough the screams of burning residents rose up to send shivers of fear down the spines of all who heard. The steady clicking of a thousand clawed feet could be briefly heard above the roaring of the fire, but to most it would have gone unnoticed. Those still alive were trapped between two enemies, leaving their burning homes to run into the weapons of demons. How did the saying go? Out of the frying pan and into the fire._

_The smell of burning flesh, of death and destruction was an adrenaline rush to the demons that lurked the shadows, flames licking up to touch at them as they moved amongst the fallen rubble, eager claws searching for a human that might still be alive. At first it seemed that perhaps the humans had already died, or perhaps run away like the cowards they were presumed to be, and with these thoughts the demons relaxed their senses._

_A distant explosion erupted, glittering embers sent clouding into the air and swirling around the form of a slender human girl, shortly cropped hair flapped around her finely featured face, anger glowing deep within the pools of her eyes. The weapons that hung draped from holsters around her form reflected the deep orange light from the fire around her, smooth metallic bodies glittering with a fire of their own. For a moment she stood as still as a statue, her eyes fixed ahead on the burning carcass of what had become her new home during her lonely childhood. Had she done something terrible in a past life to deserve this sort of torment? She clenched her jaw, eyes narrowing as she raised her head to glance around her, suddenly aware of movement in the shadows. They were out there, and they were waiting for her. Well if it was her that they wanted she ought to not be rude! She shifted her position, feet setting more firmly on the ash bathed ground beneath her. If they had set even one dirty claw on someone she cared for then she would make them live to regret it._

_In a swift movement the bazooka strapped to her back was in her hands and being swung to stand in a vertical position, its base pressed into the dirt as she prepared to make herself known to all who were around. A moment later and the trembling of the kick rattled up her arms, shaking the teeth in her skull as she watched the multiple missiles stream through the air, their almost erratic paths locating a gathering of demons and turning them into ash, their remains becoming lost amongst the rubble._

_It took a moment for the great swirls of ash to settle once more and then above the crackle of flames a high-pitched shriek tore through the air. It rattled through her body and muscles tensed as she awaited its arrival. A Hell Vanguard - as they had been appropriately nicknamed - could be a fearsome opponent if underestimated, but she would never be accused of doing such a thing. They were larger than the average demon, towering above many of their opponents and using an incredible agility to duck and dive before moving in for the kill. She herself had never seen one without a scythe held in it's hands and as this certain beast made an appearance, that too held one of the customary weapons in its filthy hands._

_Its black skull was illuminated by a pair of glowing crimson eyes, and its skeletal body was clothed with tattered black garments, the scent of death following in its wake as it soared towards her, gaping jaws opened in yet another battle cry. Lady readied herself, swinging the Kalina Ann back upon one shoulder, and reaching down to grab the pistols slung at her hips. Around the Vanguard moved a flock of the lesser beasts, ones that she had come across many times before. They could cause problems when in mass numbers but other than that a few well targeted shots from the bazooka should indeed take them out with no trouble. It was only when she scanned the buildings around her that she saw yet even more demons taking their place to fight, things were becoming a little more tense than she liked, especially when she caught sight of the blue blades that glowed from them. They would try and take her down whilst she was dealing with the others which would make things difficult...but not impossible._

_Her thoughts flickered briefly to Owen, a nervousness stirring in her stomach as she continued to glance around her. There appeared to be no sign of survivors anywhere, and it was hardly surprising considering how many demons were lurking around amongst the burning rubble._

_A flash of blue zipped past her vision, startling her into action - a sign that the battle had begun - and she jumped neatly backwards, empty hands reaching to grab the pistols and raise them to fire the first shots. She had the ammunition, the skill and the determination, but did she have the luck to dodge everything and escape completely unscathed? Shaking that thought from her head she squeezed both triggers, tense muscles trembling from the effort as she sent a wave of bullets into the oncoming demons. The Vanguard disappeared within a dark cloud to dodge the attack, leaving the rest of the minions to face the girl alone for a brief few moments. A second or so later however the creature rose up beneath Lady's feet and she let out a small cry of surprise, tumbling sideways to break away from its path._

_The demons let out a chorus of triumph, wild eyes rolling in their sockets as they once again turned on her, determined to tear her to bloody ribbons with their scythes._

_She turned now, legs madly dashing as she tried to run, pausing to let a wave of blue blades zip past her. That was close, too close! The breath burned in her lungs as she continued, vaulting up onto a pile of burning rubble, pausing to glance back. Sure enough her fans were following, and at terrifyingly high speeds, it wouldn't be long before they had caught up with her and she would be faced with them all once more. She had to reach a place where she the advantage, somewhere she could break up their close-knit group and pick them out easily one by one._

_Owen's place?_

_Yes, there was no way he would ever let them get to him, he had plenty of weapons stored there and if she could just reach it in time they would have to break up to get in the doorway. A smirk of triumph played across her face as she continued onwards, ducking beneath yet another wave of blades. Now at least she had some sort of plan._

_However, nothing could have prepared her for the sight of the gunsmith as she rounded the corner, eyes focusing on the burning rubble which had been her haven for so long. A terrible pain tugged at her heart, doubling her forwards in agony. What had happened? How could Owen have let this happen? Was he...was he...? She shook her head violently, not wanting to even comprehend the situation like that. The man she knew and cared for would never fall to the hands of demons, he was too strong, too loyal to life to give up and die._

_Tears blinded her as she continued, knees scuffed as she fell to the ground and began to sift through the rubble._

_"OWEN!" Her voice tore harshly from her throat as she became all too aware of the demons in their hot pursuit of more blood. Her blood. She turned, eyes wide as she saw the Vanguard leading them, its eyes locked upon her, weapon dragged upwards to slice her in two._

_She opened her mouth to cry out, only to have it filled with ash, the explosion of a gun ringing out across the street..._

* * *

She shifted in her sleep, brow beaded with sweat, short brown hair sticking to her face as she tried to rid herself of the nightmares which continued to threaten her sanity. Her body convulsed inwards and then she motioned out, reaching for something, anything to give her some security. Her seeking fingers found what they had been looking for, the warmth of another body lying beside her and she tugged herself closer. 

A moment later and her mismatched eyes flickered open to allow her to fully appreciate what position she had just gotten herself into. A tickle of crimson coloured her cheeks and her heart did a complete flip, rendering her completely motionless as memories began to filter slowly through her mind.

They had kissed, oh and it had been the most wonderful experience of her life.

She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and tried to reminisce the memory, capture it in stone and never once forget it. The feel of his lips on hers, the warmth and strength of his muscular arms as they encircled her. She had never felt so safe before, not since her childhood, cradled in her mother's lap. A faint smile touched her lips, tears beading in the corners of her eyes as she moved her head, hiding her face in the pillow. Then after a moment she angled her head towards the sleeping devil beside her, and drank in the scene.

She had never once expected him to look so angelic, an innocence brightening his features that could capture even the most hardest of hearts. It wasn't hard to comprehend that she too had fallen for his charms, denying her feelings for so long, trying to convince herself that she didn't like him. Oh how wrong could she have been! She was head over heels! She loved him!

She moved to prop herself up on one elbow, reaching out with her free hand to trace the powerful jaw line, cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, lowering her touch to trace the line of his lips. Something fluttered within her, and her look softened to one of complete adoration.

He moved then, eyes frosted with blue ice as his gaze settled upon her, a devilish smirk replacing the innocence that had been there before. She contained a bout of laughter, shaking her head slightly; there was nothing innocent about this man...this demon.

"What? I have something on my face?" Dante said, letting his head move slightly so that his eyes could focus solely on her. Then in a fluid motion he pushed her sideways and rolled so his body loomed over hers, hands pressing into the pillow beside her head as he gazed down at her. The feeling of being completely powerless to him filled her with warmth and a strange security that she was slowly learning to love. Last night had been yet another occasion where his strength had simply overwhelmed her, the twining of their unclothed bodies in the dark.

Her face flushed with pleasure rather than embarrassment as she slipped her arms around his waist, curving one palm over his tapered hips to rest on his thigh. It seemed that they hadn't done anything to hide their nakedness after their union last night, but she wasn't that bothered about it.

His lips came crushing down upon hers once more and she winced a little before leaning against him, apparently the kisses they had indulged in during their height of passion had left bruises on her mouth that were determined to make themselves known. Mouths parted and the kiss extended, ardour rising once more as they refused to part.

The devil's hand crept up to cradle her cheek, caressing the skin there with callused fingers before tracing the downy furrows of her neck lower to the dip between her collarbones. His fingers teased the sensitive area there, dwindling just a moment before moving lower to cup a breast, the touch sending a shiver of delight down both of their spines. Once where Lady may have felt shame at such actions with a demon she felt nothing but sheer excitement. This desperate longing to become one with this man overwhelming her mind and sending all negative thoughts far from comprehension.

She loved him...but wait...did he love her? Or was all of this just lust driven, a way to quench his demonic hunger?

Her eyes snapped open, body tensing in a way that let him know something was wrong, and after a moment his own cool blue eyes opened to regard her. A questioning look filtered from his icy orbs as she pushed him back away from her, sliding off the bed and taking the blanket with her to drape it around her body. She cursed her mind for thinking such a thing, especially when she gazed upon his own pale-skinned form, his body well toned and beautiful to look upon. If she hadn't been so foolish he could have been hers, but...she couldn't take the risk of having her heart broken by him.

By a demon.

Her heart was too sensitive and still healing from wounds suffered as a child. Anymore pain like this and she'd probably crumple and die.

"We should keep a look out for the message." She said with a frown as she moved to retrieve various articles of clothing that lay strewn about the room. Her shorts and underwear had found various places on the floor but as for her blouse there was no sign. So instead she lifted Dante's faded shirt and slipped that on over her shoulders, buttoning up the front with nimble fingers.

"Message? Don't give me that! Lady what the hell is wrong with you? Last night you were all for it and now?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, the scowl on his face slightly frightening. However Lady was having none of it. She gave him an unimpressed look and shook the hair from her face.

"Get dressed Dante." She thrust the blanket at him and vacated the room.

Mismatched eyes filled with tears as she turned on the shower and stepped in, clothes once again shed to try and rid herself of his scent. The shirt had smelt of him, her skin smelt of him and right now she wanted to clear her mind of all things Dante. She had fooled herself if she thought a demon could possess the emotions to make it capable of love. He may look human but he was not one and she had to try and remember that no matter how hard it was.

The water purged her, steaming about her slender form and without wasting anymore time she was out of the shower, drying herself with a towel and dressing into her clothes - minus the blouse. Instead of that she wore the bullet proof vest that was usually hidden beneath it, the black material firm and padded around her frame. It wasn't very warm or comfortable but it was better than wearing nothing but underwear or Dante's shirt.

A knock on the bathroom door caused her to jerk upwards suddenly, cracking her head on the cabinet that hung on the wall.

"Ah shit." She cursed, rubbing at her scalp and checking for blood.

"Are you okay?"

"Not that you actually care!" Lady yelled in retaliation, stepping back and unlocking the door before swinging it open. The demon almost fell through, apparently he had been leaning against the wooden panels at the time. She greeted him with a stern look.

"What the hell is your problem? Can't I do anything right?" His eyes flashed with frustration.

"You treat me like some possession, like some whore you found on the street and wonder why I'm pissed?" She yelled into his face, side-stepping around him and moving into the main room. He followed closely at her heels, taking her by the shoulder and swinging her around to face him. "Well I never heard you complaining, quite the opposite actually." He snarled, glaring down at her with a look that could surely kill. He was frustrated and so was she, both of them stubborn and with tempers that would clash. However Dante usually hid his anger behind jokes...not this time though. This time the comedian façade had been lost to his complete irritation of the woman he cared about.

"The medicine must have messed with my mind. There's no way in hell I'd have slept with you...touched you in that way if I was thinking straight." Her face twisted in disgust, but on the inside her heart was shattering. How could she be speaking to him like this? Was it her own insecurity? Her own confusion? "You're a demon! I'm supposed to kill things like you not...not..." She trailed off as she caught a look at his face.

"So we're back to this again. I thought we had moved past that whole: 'all demons are evil' kick. Apparently not!" He shook his head in disbelief, releasing her shoulders as she struggled and taking a step back. What the hell had happened! The last few days had been great between them, sure they had argued, but it had been an almost affectionate arguing...this was something else completely. Lady was closing herself off from him again. What was she afraid of? The question repeated and echoed in his mind again and again as he returned her cold glare and as she moved over to the door he decided to word it.

"Just what are you so afraid of, huh!"

She paused, leaning against the frame, turning her scarred face to gaze at him, eyes brimming with tears that she refused to shed. She looked simply beautiful at that moment; vulnerable and feminine. He craved her, wanted to protect her but he couldn't if she didn't let him. At first he thought she wouldn't answer but then her lips parted and she spoke.

"You."

The single word hit him like a physical blow and his eyes widened in complete and utter shock. His mind shut down and he didn't even try to stop her as she left.

She was afraid of him?

Why?

He would never hurt her...never...the injuries he had done to her all that time ago had been his way of protecting her from the imminent possibility of death if she had continued on her quest for revenge. He would never stoop to that level again and surely...surely after their passion last night she realised that? He had been strong but not forceful or violent with her and she had reacted to that with a strength that had surprised even him.

He had bedded many women in his time but no one who had satisfied him like she had done.

So why then would she act so coldly towards him now? It didn't make any sense.

* * *

Lady moved swiftly, red boots making barely a sound on the cobbled streets. She knew where she was going and no one was going to stop her, home was safe, home was secret. No one would know where she was and seeing as she had lost Kalina Ann there would probably be no more demon hunting for her. That weapon had been her confidence, her reason to continue fighting when everything looked bleak. 

She was alone again, walking in the drizzle with no weapon apart from the pistol at her hip and no Dante.

No Dante.

The tears that had been dwelling in her mismatched eyes wobbled dangerously and as she lowered her head against a blast of wind they came free to tremble down her face.

Things had been going so well between them, their arguments had clearly been done in jest and their partnership in battle as well as being friends had proved valuable. Then when things had taken a turn into something deeper she had gotten cold feet and backed out of it. The ache in her muscles proved that she had accepted his advances eagerly and with equal passion; and that she didn't regret. She'd have a night she'd always remember, but that was as far as it would go.

One night would last a lifetime.

Her heart trembled and she let out a choked sob, shaking her head sadly.

"Mother...what have I done? I fell for a demon...I-I tried not to, I honestly did but..." She stopped as she felt the salty moisture gather on her lips and reached up with one hand to wipe them away.

"Now, now dear...don't cry." A noble but sinister voice spoke up causing the young woman to raise her head almost instantly. Eyes widened fearfully as she backed up away from the shadowed figure before her, light from the pale sun catching his fine features.

"Y-you!" Her breath caught in her throat, muscles freezing and refusing to move. Fear gripped her and her body convulsed as she watched him draw closer, one hand outstretched for her, fingers curled in a beckoning gesture.

"It's time to send the message."

"N-no!" Her heart jerked painfully in her chest as the hand closed about her shoulder, and suddenly the town around her began to darken, streaming down into nothing like paint on a canvas. No more rain, no more wind...just an endless abyss that consumed her.

Consumed them.

The cogs had started turning and it was only a matter of time before the chimes struck.


	8. The Message

Devil May Cry is not owned by me. Story for fan purposes only.

AN:

Well, what can I say? How long as it been since the last chapter? An apology isn't worth much when I kept you all waiting so long. I doubt most of my old reviewers even come on let alone are reading DMC fics. But I must say here how much all your comments meant to me.

I noticed that I've had a few new reviewers very recently, so many thanks to you also.

Well, the reason for my disappearance is simple really. A lack of inspiration. I lost my way with this story, probably because I never had a set ending in mind – I had a few possibilities marked out and couldn't decide which to go for. However, since playing DMC4 I've found my inspiration again and so I sat down and worked on the rest of the story.

There are only going to be three or four more chapters left to go and I have them all drafted so I promise that this story will find an end.

This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, each and every one of you.

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CHAPTER 8 – THE MESSAGE

---

_She coughed and gagged, desperate to free her lungs of the demon's ashes, not seeming to care that she'd been close to death. Somewhere behind her came the shrill demonic cries of her foes as they searched for her through the smoke. Greedy flames crackled nearby, heating the air and burning her lungs._

_And then she remembered the gunshot._

_She looked up, peered through the smoke, tried to find her saviour._

'_Get out of here girl.' _

'_Owen?' It was him, there was no mistaking it. 'Owen, where are you?'_

'_Get out of here! Don't worry about me.'_

_But she did worry. Owen had always been there to help. He'd created beautiful weapons for her, weapons that had killed and tortured those who had tried to torture her. He had given her the strength and courage to fight. She stumbled through the rubble, her eyes streaming from the smoke. She coughed, retched, tried to clear her lungs, suddenly afraid that she would suffocate._

_And then she found him, half-crushed under the rubble of his fallen store. He had a rifle in his hand, now held limply in his grasp. Blood was pooling from his head, gumming his eyes closed. He looked awful._

'_Owen, hang in there.' She dropped her weapons, using both hands to lift chunks of debris from his broken body. She did not see the fading light in his eyes, did not hear his weak protesting. All she saw was a friend in need. She wouldn't let anyone else she cared for die. She would save Owen._

'_Listen.' He croaked. 'I'm done for, kid.'_

_She paused, trembling from the effort of holding back her sobs._

'_Let me go. Save yourself.'_

'_I can't just leave you Owen.'_

'_If you don't, you'll die too. How do you think that'll make me feel?'_

'_I left my mother to die.' She blurted suddenly, wiping the back of a hand across her teary eyes._

'_No you didn't, kid. Your mother wouldn't want you to throw your life away for a lost cause.'_

'_I won't. You saved me; I have to repay the favour.'_

_Owen laughed, patted the rifle tenderly. 'My last bullet.' He was amused about something, maybe laughing at his own dismal fate._

'_Owen…'_

'_Go, kid. I'm just a foolish old man. Dieing like this is as noble as it gets. I've got me a ticket to heaven now. My suffering is…' He paused, drew in a shaky breath. 'Coming to an end now. You've got to live on, that's the difficult part. Living when everything is so awful.' He paused again, his eyelids flickering like the wings of a frightened butterfly. _

'_I can't…'_

'_Yes you can. You're a survivor. Just promise me…one thing.' He wheezed, coughed. 'Learn to smile, okay?'_

_She reached over, clutched his hand and squeezed it tightly in her own young fingers. _

'_That's a good girl.' He smiled._

_But she couldn't manage to smile back. 'I'm sorry Owen.'_

'_Watch out!' His voice punctured the air and she turned just in time to see a demon materialising through the smoke, its ugly glowing eyes whirling, focusing upon her. It raised its deadly scythe, swished it once, swirled the smoke that curled and writhed like ghostly snakes. _

_The girl groped madly for her pistols, found Owen's rifle. Her finger squeezed the trigger. Nothing. No ammunition._

_She screamed, watched as the scythe arched down, slashing through the air by her face. Blood sprayed into her eyes, pain exploded in her face. She sprawled back against the rubble, blinking to try and clear her vision._

_Her fingers grasped a pistol and she raised it, fired._

_The crack echoed through the street, giving her location away and puncturing a hole through the demon's skull. It's eyes grew dull, it shivered through the air erratically, swinging it's weapon from side to side._

'_Go!' Owen screamed._

_She didn't think. In her fear she forgot Owen; she forgot that he was lying beneath the rubble, prone to the demon's flailing attacks. All she knew was her terror, her terror and her need to survive._

_Owen's scream of anguish bounced off of the walls behind her, freezing her heart, cutting her soul. But only when silence reigned and she knew she was alone, did she stop to grieve; weeping alone in the cold streets of the place that was now, no longer home._

--

She was alone. Utterly alone.

Lady sat huddled in the far corner of her cell, not daring to look up, not daring to move. Her eyes were dry and tired, her arm ached and a part of her just wanted to curl up and die. But she couldn't do it. That's what they wanted her to do. She scowled stubbornly and pushed all thoughts of death from her mind. Then, finally, she lifted her eyes to look around her.

The cell she was in was small and empty. The walls were damp and covered in fungus. The bars were rusty, the door lodged shut by an iron bar on the outside. There were no windows and the only light came from the lamps out in the corridor. A rat sat on the far side of her cell and groomed its whiskers.

Crawling forwards towards the bars, Lady strained her ears to listen. There was no sound, no talking, no pacing, no crying or screaming. In fact the only sound to penetrate the silence was the rhythmic dripping of water; probably a leaking pipe by the looks of this rundown place. As to what this place was, Lady had no idea. She did not recognise it at all and without a window she had no idea where she was. Maybe she wasn't even in the city anymore. Actually, thinking about it, the further away she was from the city the better. That way Dante couldn't find her. She didn't deserve to be found, not after all those horrible things she said to him.

"He was so angry." She whispered to herself. But she knew it hadn't been just anger. There had been hurt there too, hurt and confusion. "But how could I possibly explain to him? He'd just think I was making excuses…and he'd be right." She sighed miserably. After all he'd lost his mother too. Not just that, but he'd been forced to condemn his twin brother. If anyone could understand all the pain and loss of her past then Dante could.

Yes, they were more similar than she had ever realised.

"Not that it matters now. He'll never find me. He won't want to find me." Besides, she thought grimly, it's probably best he doesn't know who captured me. She just hoped that he wouldn't answer the message. That he wouldn't get to speak to that snake's master; especially if his master was the same demon as her captor.

"You don't know that for certain."

Lady's head snapped up, her eyes quickly finding the source of the voice. The little girl stood outside the cell, peering in at her with large, sad eyes. She seemed relatively unharmed and if she felt scared she certainly didn't show it. Instead her expression was pitying and Lady felt suddenly angry. She didn't want pity, especially from a child.

"He might come." The child continued.

"What are you doing out there? Why haven't they locked you up?"

"I don't know."

"What happened to you?"

"I…don't remember."

Infuriated, Lady swept up to the bars, rattling on them angrily, desperate to break herself free. The iron bar, however, held strong, keeping her caged up. "It's time to start remembering, kid. Dante might not see it, but I know you're up to something." She snarled.

"The demon…" The girl began then stopped. Now she did look frightened. She backed away from the cell; let her eyes dart from side to side, searching the shadows.

Her fear was infectious and Lady found herself drawing away from the bars, backing up towards the far side of the cell. The rat – who had been quite content grooming himself – gave a high-pitched squeak and darted away before her boot unknowingly crushed down on him.

A demon materialised in front of the cell, directly next to the child. At first his image was fuzzy. It jolted and jerked like an image on a broken TV set. Then, finally it settled and Lady shrank back in disgust. It was a hideous creature, its body human-like in that it stood on two legs and had two arms. The arms, however, hung long, its knuckles almost dragging on the ground. Its legs were spindled and spiny with clawed toes. Its face looked as if it had been stretched and manipulated. It had huge yellow eyes, six of them in all, and long pointed ears that were tufted with purple fur. The same odd fur grew up on its knobbly spine, from which spikes protruded. Its wings were skeletal and small and its skull had two curling horns that pointed forwards. Its jaws uncurled into four individual segments, sharp snake-like teeth pulsing in its mouth that dripped with an odd-coloured substance.

It rested a gnarled, clawed hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What the hell are you?" Lady gasped, hand reflexively seeking a weapon, only to find the holsters empty. Cursing viciously, she let her eyes dart around the cell, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. There was nothing to use.

"I…can be anything." The creature's mouth didn't look as if it would be possible to form words, but the words rattled in her mind more than in her ears. It advanced a step and its foul odour swamped the cell, leaving Lady gasping for breath.

"What's the supposed to mean?" She hissed between clenched teeth.

The child stood frozen, her eyes blank. She reminded Lady of a puppet, being tugged by strings; strings being operated by that disgusting demon. Her eyes snapped back to the menacing, ugly face and she shivered involuntarily. The creature repulsed her, made her sick to her stomach. She wanted to gag but she fought back the impulse.

The demon laughed and suddenly his image shivered and began to change and shift. Its body became swathed with clothes, its face shrank back, became handsome. The ears shortened, the fur faded into skin that lightened. And in moments a familiar face stared back at her. The face of her captor. She gaped in astonishment more than anything. The demon was a perfect likeness to him. So perfect that she would never have dreamed that it was merely a demon in disguise.

"B-but how?"

The demon – who was now a man – smiled at her, rather pleasantly. "Demonic power, human."

"But you look just like him! Like Dante's brother!"

And indeed he did. A perfect replica of Vergil stared back at her, his cool eyes, his blonde spiky hair. Even his blue coat was a perfect likeness to the one that the condemned hybrid had worn.

"A shape shifter!" She rasped.

And again the demon shifted, returning to what Lady assumed must be his true form. The elongated, gaping jaws slathered at her. His yellow eyes rolled feverishly in its skull. She shrank away again, repulsed by the sight and fearful of his power.

"The message has been sent." The demon spoke with a laugh and then as suddenly as he appeared, he disappeared, fading away. The child, still in his grasp, faded too and Lady was left alone to wallow in his words. The message, the message that would bring Dante here. Her heart clenched, she moved towards the bars, shook them again, desperate to free herself, desperate to warn him.

But the iron bar held and her cries of frustration were heard by no one.

--

She hadn't come back.

Why hadn't she come back?

Dante paced the length of his room for the hundredth time, almost expecting to see the floorboards worn away from the path he had taken, up and down, up and down. Now, however, he was forced to accept that Lady wasn't coming back, maybe not ever.

He didn't understand her. Didn't understand her incessant angry outbursts or her constant shifting of personalities. She confused him; it was as simple as that. One moment he was doing something right and then a split second later and she'd be shouting him for being such an idiot. In fact, after a long while pacing he had come to the conclusion that the problem lay with her and not with him.

Yes he wasn't to blame for this one. As far as he was concerned he had performed wonderfully in all aspects of trying to get 'closer' to her and he wasn't going to have her say otherwise.

He had to admit though, having such a challenge as Lady was something of a thrill.

But where was she?

He paused, drew a shutter open and peered out into the miserable street. Empty. No, not quite empty. A cat was walking gracefully along a crumbled old wall. But there were no people, no children playing in the streets, no families walking hand in hand. Dante doubted there would ever be such peaceful scenes in this place ever. There was so much hate, so much killing and bloodshed and not enough love.

He sighed, walked back to his desk and slumped into the chair, wishing that she'd just walk through that door and demand he apologise for whatever it was he was supposed to have done wrong.

But there was nothing.

But the nothing didn't last for long. Just as the sun was sliding downwards into oblivion, there was a harsh knocking sound on the door. Dante lifted his eyes, glanced suspiciously across the room. He knew it wasn't Lady. She'd not bother to knock. But then, who was it? He stood, set his pistols in their holsters and slung his sword across his back, not wanting to take any risks.

Then, reaching forwards he flung the door open, almost wrenching it from its hinges. A man stood in the doorway, his face shadowed by a wide-brimmed hat. He said nothing, just lifted a hand that grasped a crinkled looking envelope. Dante, hesitating for only a second, reached up to snatch it from the stranger's fingers. Then, without another thought he tore it open and pulled the note out into the open.

His eyes darkened.

He raised his head to question the stranger, but the stranger was gone. A cold wind whipped in through the doorway and he forced it closed, shutting it out.

"The invitation has arrived. Time to go." He moved back to the coat hanger, slung his coat over his shoulders and repositioned his various weapons. Then, turning towards the door he pushed it open, stepped outside into the bitter cold.

He glanced at the letter one last time then released it, watched it flap away in the wind. It fluttered, twirled, danced, caught in the boughs of a tree and flapped there, lost and forgotten.

--

When Dante arrived there were no hordes of demons there to greet him, no vicious demon preparing to slay him and cut him down in his prime. There were streets that were fairly normal in activity. People walked in groups, faces alert but relaxed. A mother and her child sat together, feeding the ducks on the pond. Trees rustled, the grey clouds hung in the sky, but even though it was cold it seemed people were making the most of the peace and quiet.

But Dante's sharp eyes missed nothing and he spotted the child almost instantly. She stood by the pond, alone, staring at him as if she had known when he would arrive. He felt a shudder down his spine at seeing her there but knew for certain that she was the one who could take him to see this _Mightier One_ and that in turn would lead him to Lady. The message had said little but it had said enough.

They had taken her and boy was she going to be mad that they got the upper hand.

"So kid." Dante muttered as he reached her. "Where's the snake master and where's Lady?"

"Come with me. I will show you the way."

With a shrug, Dante followed, letting the child lead him away from the square, deeper into the city, the old part that had long ago been destroyed by demons. People had refused to return to this sector of the city and so it had always remained a pile of rubble, never being redeveloped.

She turned down one alley and then another, seeming to move as if she were being tugged along by a rope. Dante felt something tug on his instincts, warning signals went off in his head and suddenly the darkness increased and he found himself standing in a street that he had never known existed. The sky pulsated with a sickly red hue, moving and swirling like molten lava. The buildings on either side had crumbled away, revealing an empty, barren plain and on the distance was a lone building, a tower that looked as if it had once belonged to a castle. Now it was all that remained, one dismal tower alone in an unknown dimension.

The girl turned back to face him, a haunting smile on her face. "The Master is waiting for you."

To be continued…


	9. The Shape Shifter

Chapter 9 – The Shape Shifter

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry in any shape or form.

A/N: I don't know if anyone is reading this fic, but in any case I put another chapter up, since this is my favourite one so far. Apparently the LadyxDante fics aren't very popular! Either way, no readers or readers, here is the next chapter.

If there is anyone reading, your reviews are welcomed.

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Chapter 9 – The Shape Shifter

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Dante wasted no time. He didn't pause to ask questions, didn't pause to think on a plan. He had always been rash and reckless, it was his way. His untamed personality had him put all his faith in his abilities. And why not? They had never let him down in the past and they wouldn't fail him now. He sprinted across the pathway, ignoring the pulsing sky, ignoring the barren landscape around him. He was fast. Faster than any human. Faster, perhaps, than any demon.

He could have been flying at the speed he ran.

The tower looming on the distance suddenly became bigger, more ominous. Its shadow fell across him, casting him into a darkness that certainly wasn't natural. He could feel eyes on him, watching him, studying him, revelling in his power. He smirked, drew his pistols and shot into the gloom as he passed by.

Shrill shrieks of terror pierced the air and in a cloud of dust, the hidden demons died.

"Score!" He laughed at their inability to outthink and outrun him.

Was there never going to be a demon who could match his skills?

And then his run was over. The gates to the towers were open, an odd, eerie glow emanating from within. He paused in the entrance and felt a sense of foreboding weigh down on him, attempting to force him back. But he couldn't go back. He wouldn't. His pride wouldn't allow it. He was here to show that these demons couldn't mess with him. He was here to get Lady back.

He stepped inside and the doors swung shut, bolted behind him.

He didn't bother to look back. What was the point? He was already locked in from the outside so whoever had trapped him was now out there. He was safe, for the time-being. Not that it mattered anyway. It'd take more than a stab to the back to keep him down.

Dante traced the room with his eyes. Objects that were probably nothing but everyday furniture looked twisted and scheming in the green-hued glow. Shadows gave the room a sinister look, gave the impression that creatures were lurking, flickering. He turned his head slowly, sketching out the possibilities of which corridor would lead him to where he wanted to go.

A stone gargoyle leered at him from the far side of the room, its weathered face grotesquely carved.

Dante rapped his knuckles against its lion-like maw. "Hey there ugly." His voice filled the silence. It echoed again and again, never seeming to fade – almost as if the walls had absorbed its imprint.

There was a rustle behind him and he turned to find nothing. Nothing but shadows and the echo of his voice in the halls.

"What the hell is this place?" And again his words were snatched, trapped.

"This way."

Dante span, his hand flashing to grip Rebellion and cast the demon down. He felt a little foolish, however, when he realised it was only the kid and rubbed a hand sheepishly through his hair. "Whoa, kid, stop doing that will yah?" She really was starting to freak him out now. How had she managed to get ahead of him anyway? Was she a demon too? Either way, there was no time to think about it now. He had to find what he had come here for and then he had to get the hell out.

He followed her down the corridor, letting his eyes wander as he went.

It turned out that there was only one way to go. Up. The corridor coiled up and up and up, following the outside of the tower. Dante had no idea how many levels there were and certainly had no idea how many rooms there were. They seemed to pass hundreds of doors, though he was sure that couldn't be possible.

"How much further kid?"

"Continue up."

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" He stretched, rested his arms up behind his head.

"Just a little more." Her voice echoed oddly from the walls, surrounding him with its emotionless sound.

"Yeah, yeah."

He didn't exactly trust her but for now he was content to follow. She'd probably be leading him towards the demon master first. That suited him just fine. He'd kill the _Mightier One_ and then he'd go and find Lady. He was pretty sure she'd be able to handle anything that was thrown her way. The advantage she had was that demons tended to underestimate her because she was human. This was going to be a piece of cake.

The corridor seemed to go on forever, curling around and around and around. They passed hundreds of doors, doors that were locked, doors that were open, doors that were broken. He paused to peer into one but found himself being hurried along by the child.

"Give me a break kid." He was amazed that she was still able to ascend the stairs with ease. He was by no means tired out, but walking up all these stairs did have a way of taking up energy.

And then finally she stopped, pointed at a door. "Here."

Dante looked at it. The door was by no means special. It looked exactly like all the others they had passed by before now. He expected that the kid was being led somehow, or maybe she knew this place well. However, deciding that this was a good a place to start as any, he pushed it open. The door fell inside the room, its hinges broken long ago. It made an awful crash that echoed again and again, the sound never quite lost. Dust clouds rose up from the floor; momentarily choked him. He coughed, waved his arm to disperse the clouds and stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit with lamps; positioned at various intervals on the floor. Along the wall were shackles, fastened to the walls. The metal rings hung down against the brickwork, rusty and by the looks of it, not used in a long time. He followed them along with his eyes and kept going until he found a pair that were occupied by two gloved hands. Forgetting himself, he rushed towards the lifeless looking body and wrenched the manacles from the wall with his inhuman strength. The woman flopped into his arms, blinked up at him without recognition.

"Lady. Hey Lady, rise and shine." He brushed bangs of hair from her face.

Recognition returned at his voice. She smiled, lovingly.

Loving? He didn't ever think he'd seen her so serene, so calm and peaceful. Odd that it would take imprisoning to bring out her gentle side. Well Lady wasn't the stereotypical woman. Who knows, maybe she even liked this type of thing?

He smirked devilishly.

"Dante?"

"Glad to see you remember me." He laughed and pulled her up onto her feet. The manacles were still on her wrists, but he'd see to getting rid of them later. For now it was important just to get her away.

"Don't be stupid. I was waiting for you." She continued, leaning against him as if she couldn't quite support herself on her feet.

"You were? I'd have thought you would have busted out of here by now. You always told me I wasn't the most dependable guy around."

"I tried to, but I couldn't."

"Come on, let's bust out of this joint. I don't trust that kid and there's something else here too." He glanced around, suspiciously.

"Wait Dante." She grabbed his hand and smiled up at him.

Okay, now Dante knew there was definitely something up. He'd been trying his damned hardest to get her to smile and here she was doing it without him even making an attempt. He eyed her suspiciously, freeing his hand from hers. He grasped her shoulders, faced her directly.

"What's wrong?" She blinked up at him.

"Answer me something, okay?"

She nodded.

"How do you feel about me? Honestly."

She looked confused for a moment, glanced up at him as if he were asking a trick question. She opened her mouth, closed it again and then looked thoughtful. "You don't know?"

"No."

"I love you, silly."

The words were barely out of her mouth when he was shoving her back against the wall, a pistol finding its way into his hand. He aimed it, shot, hit her straight between the eyes. She slumped back and slithered down the wall, her eyes bulging out of her head.

"W-w-w-why?" Her voice was odd, took on a different tone. "How did y-y-y-you know?"

"What? That you're a faker?" He smirked. "You obviously don't know Lady very well." Surprised that the shot hadn't killed the demon straight off, Dante approached, lifted the demon by its shirt collar and made direct eye contact with it. "What the hell are you?"

The demon writhed in his grasp, shuddered violently as if it were preparing to burst apart. And then Lady's visage began to melt away, revealing a face that Dante knew well. He threw the demon back against the wall, took a step back and aimed both pistols straight at the twitching demon.

"So you discovered my secret," The demon smiled, "brother."

Dante knew it wasn't his brother, knew it was the power of some strange demon. He knew those blue eyes looking at him weren't real and yet looking at Vergil who was not Vergil, sent something burrowing into his heart. He had always felt guilty at what he had had to do on that fateful day. Always wondered how his brother fared and now, his image was in front of him, almost conjured by these thoughts.

He prepared to shoot and found his fingers trembling.

"I met your brother." The demon laughed. "He wanted to give you a message."

"Oh really?" Dante snarled, forcing his fear back under anger, let it consume him. "How interesting. It's a shame I don't have time to hear it." He squeezed the trigger, determined to put another bullet in the demon's brain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh really? The audience wants an encore?" Dante turned his head, glanced around at the imaginary audience. Laughing he turned back. "Your show's over, demon. The encore is for me."

"If you kill me the puppet will die."

"The child? Hell, who cares?"

"You care. That is your weakness."

"Wrong." Dante strengthened his stance. "That is my strength; that is what makes us different."

"And that is why you will not shoot me. If I die the child dies and she is currently with one of my servants. If the child dies my servant has been given orders to kill your human woman." He laughed. "She's interesting for a human. Hides her fear well. But in the end she's as breakable as all of them. She is but flesh and blood."

"So what is all this in aid of? Are you some sort of obsessed fan of mine?" Dante smirked, though his expression was more tense than usual. "If you wanted an autograph, you only had to ask."

"Fool! What demon doesn't want to try and break the legendary son of Sparda?" The demon replied. "Those with the power, those like me, are destined to attempt it. The others, those before me, failed because they went about it all wrong." The shape shifter smiled. "I will attack your heart and it will break your spirit. I will kill you and power will be mine."

"Well that sure is original." The devil shrugged casually.

"You love her. I will kill her. Pain, agony, despair…it all leads down the same path. I will begin your downfall, another will end it."

"I've loved women before her. She's no different from them."

"Oh really? Don't be so hasty in those words; you might live to regret them. Especially when she's bleeding her life away in your arms."

"Hey you don't know her like I do. Lady's too stubborn to die."

"That remains to be seen."

"Okay, enough of the chatter. I'm a busy person, you know? Gotta get going if I want to earn a buck or two. Excuse me, will you?"

He raised his gun.

The shadows moved behind him, took a life of their own and suddenly the torture chamber was filled with the high-pitched screams of the snake demons. Dante turned, arched Rebellion gracefully from his back, caught the snakes with a vicious swipe. The lamplight glistened off of their oily, translucent, green bodies, shone in the beams of their yellow eyes.

He swung, jumped, brought himself crashing down amongst them. They reached for him, desperate to sink their claws into him, desperate to drag him down under the crowd. They tore at his coat, screamed in defiance as he evaded them. Another grabbed his ankle, tried to tug him to the floor.

Dante shot into the mass of writhing bodies, felt grit shower him.

And then pain. Pain exploded in his back and he turned in rage to see the shape shifter standing menacingly behind him. Vergil's image was fading now, revealing the demon's true form; an elongated, foul creature that spread skeletal wings up from a purple-furred back.

"So that's the _Mightier One_ I've heard so much about. No wonder you like to steal other people's images if you look like that. Damn, haven't you heard of a breath mint?"

The shape shifter wasted no time with words. Filled with boiling fury he leapt, knocked into Dante and sent them both tumbling across the floor. The snake demons cowered back at the sight of their master's true form, waited patiently for the outcome.

Dante met with the ground first, felt the wound in his back begin to heal. The shape shifter attempted to impale the half-breed on his spindled limbs, seemingly desperate to get the deed over with. Dante, summoning his strength, managed to push him away and leapt for his sword, swinging it up between himself and his enemy.

The snake minions hissed angrily.

"So you like it rough, well, let's see if you can handle this." He pooled his power, focused his strength, watched as his hands that gripped the sword began to change. They became dark, coloured red mixed with the shades of the earth. Lightning flickered around him, glinting in his brilliant eyes. Fingernails became claws, muscle strength increased, fatigue washed away. The pleasure of such power rippled through him, released as a laugh.

The shape shifter hesitated and then sprang again, attempting to catch the hybrid in an embrace that would impale Dante like a pin cushion.

Dante, with unbelievable speed, avoided the attack and twirled elegantly behind him.

"What? Where?" The shape shifter cast a glance over his shoulder, was knocked flying by the flat of Dante's blade.

"Gotta be faster than that." Dante's voice was odd. It was no longer a human voice. It was devilish and growled up from his throat.

"Bastard!!" The shape shifter leapt again, let his claws rake down the length of Dante's body. His claws, however, met nothing but thin air and again the shape shifter was knocked from his feet, left gasping for breath.

"H-how?"

Dante, feeling the burst of power beginning to leave him shrugged, released the devil trigger and returned – in a flash – to his human state. He wagged a taunting finger. "You shouldn't pick on people stronger than you. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?"

The shape shifter, howling, tried to get to his feet, found – much to his horror - a wound from Dante's last strike that rendered him unable to stand. He gaped at the bloodied streak in his side, screamed when the pain finally reached him.

Dante looked on wordlessly. Then, slowly, raised his pistols, aimed them true. "Pitiful. I was expecting a challenge. Your only strength is in deception. Your minions put up a better fight than you."

The demon looked up, fear burned in its eyes. "The child! The puppet! She will die and so will your woman!"

"You took the child's soul." Dante replied darkly. "She is already doomed. Death will be her release." He thought about Lady, hoped she'd be able to hold her own until he arrived.

A gunshot echoed around the room, echoed along the coiling corridor.

The on-looking minions went berserk.

--

Lady was pacing her cell. She was like a lion in a zoo, pacing up and down, up and down, eyeing the people outside with hungry eyes. Her gaze constantly went to the snake demon and she felt herself bubble with anger and thoughts of revenge. That was the demon who had taken Kalina Ann. That was the demon who had gotten her mixed up in all this mess. She wasn't even sure why the beast was here now. He hadn't spoken, hadn't moved. He just watched her with his scaly face, the odd organs visible beneath his translucent skin. His eyes followed her movement and she wished nothing more then to gauge them out of his head.

Then, without prompt he spoke.

"Nervousss are we?"

"Not as nervous as you will be when I get free."

"Free?" The snake canted his head at an odd angle, hissed with amusement. "And how will you manage sssuch a feat?"

"Just you wait and see, snake." Lady snapped.

In truth, she had no idea how she was going to get out of the cell. She was pretty sure that there had to be a way. She just had to figure it out! Maybe she could trick the demon into opening the door? Maybe the child would come back and she could talk her into doing it. Maybe, maybe, maybe. No definite. No sure plan. Damn, she was screwed.

Maybe Dante would come to help her—no, no certainly not. Being rescued like that would be out of the question. She was not a damsel in distress. She was NOT! No, she'd sooner stay trapped than be rescued by that oaf, though she had to admit it would have been nice to see him.

The child appeared from the shadows, stood next to Nyoka.

"The job is done." She replied, her blank eyes staring at Lady as if trying to portray some hidden message. Did that mean Dante was here? Was he fighting the shape shifter? Would he come to rescue her? Would she have to accept that she couldn't get out of here without his help?

Stop with the questions already!! She mentally screamed at herself.

Nyoka hissed, seemingly happy with the message the girl had given.

"What now?" Lady asked. "What happens now?"

"That isss none of your concern." Nyoka snapped. He opened his mouth, revealed curved, pointed fangs that dripped with poison. She remembered being bitten by one of his kind and unknowingly drew back. If she was bitten again there wouldn't be a cure to save her. She'd wither away in pain and agony and that was not the way she wanted to die. No, if she had to die, best do it in the battlefield, honourable and defiant to the end. Just like Owen…

Her thoughts turned to Dante again and she found herself hoping that he wouldn't fall for the shape shifter's trick. Somehow it saddened her more to think of his death than her own. If she died, no one would care, no one would miss her. If he died? Well, then the humans' better start praying that they get another saviour delivered to their world.

"I know you'll see through it." She murmured softly, momentarily forgetting that there were now ears around to listen to her mumblings. She cast an angry glare at Nyoka and the child but they seemed not to notice. So instead she moved to sit down on the cell floor, watching the mould growing between the stone slabs as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

A few minutes later saw this momentary stillness to an end. All of a sudden the child staggered backwards, lifting a hand to her forehead. Her eyes were wide but remained blank. Her mouth twisted into a pain filled grimace and suddenly she was collapsing.

Lady was on her feet, demanding to know what was going on.

The child just stared at her and then slowly her hand went slack, fell down by her side. There seemed to be no visible wound but the child was obviously suffering. From the way her body had jerked back Lady was guessing a gunshot, but there was no one here to shoot her. No sound of the perpetrating weapon. The child sat against the wall, her pain ebbing, her eyes half-lidded as she stared into Lady's cell, into her soul.

The woman felt a moment of despair, reached a hand through the bars as if to save her.

Nyoka stood stock still, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Massster?"

"Master?" Lady looked up at him. "What's going on?"

"MASSSTER!" The beast shrieked.

Lady, angry and fearful of what was taking place in the chamber, leaned further against the bars, somehow feeling that if she could just reach the child everything would be okay. But the girl was far from reach, her body shuddering, her eyes blank.

"Kid." Lady called, realising for the first time that she didn't know the child's name. Hell the kid probably didn't even know it herself. "Kid, what's wrong?"

The girl drew a sharp intake of breath, eyes widening, focusing on something that no one else could see. She cowered back, screamed. "The child! The Puppet!" The child's body jerked violently again, her scream cut short as the life drained from her. She lifted her eyes, looked at Lady and for the first time since they had met, the child smiled and there was emotion in her eyes. She seemed happy.

The child's mouth moved, formed a single word.

"Free."

_Free…free…free…_

It echoed in Lady's heart, had tears brimming in her eyes. She wasn't sure what had happened but somehow she knew that good had come of it. She drew her hand back through the bars, clasped her chest just above her heart and gave a silent thank you to the child – though she didn't know why.

And looking into her peaceful little face, Lady felt a little jealous at being left behind in this world, left alone and unhappy in a mouldy cell, to live on and on for as long as fate would allow.

Her troubled thoughts were interrupted.

Nyoka, with a howl of rage, threw himself at the cell door and tore the iron bar free from its place. His slimy, serpentine body wriggled and writhed. In fact the snake seemed mad with rage. It thrashed its body against the door, blasted it wide open and fell tumbling across the floor in a flurry of limbs.

Lady, shocked, scrambled to her feet and backed away, hoping to circle her way round to the door.

"Masssster'sss ordersss." Nyoka hissed. "Die! You mussst die!" He screeched and threw himself at her. Their two bodies met with a tremendous thud, turned and rolled across the floor. Lady flailed, desperate to keep away from his poisoned fangs, desperate to survive. She didn't want to die here. She couldn't bear it; the thought of being left to die of the poison, suffering alone in the dark.

The snake's tail snapped and coiled around one of her legs, pinned it to the floor, dragged her back beneath him. His jaws snapped through the air, intent on sinking fangs into vulnerable flesh, into her chest. If he drove his fangs into her heart, his poison would kill her instantly.

Lady, acting on sheer impulse, struck a fist at his face. She cracked him across the jaw and sent him reeling backwards. She tried to pull herself free but his grip on her leg held firm and he lunged at her again. Together they rolled across the floor, nearer to the open doorway. Nearer to freedom.

Lady, kicking and flailing - for the lack of a better weapon - pulled herself backwards along the floor, aiming a knee for the demon's stomach. His claws raked along her neck, tore her shirt. She screamed in pain, writhed, and the claws caught her again in the stomach, intent on gutting her. Half blind with pain and rage, Lady aimed another kick and forced him off of her. The demon's tail tightened around her leg, so tight she felt it cutting off the circulation, cutting into flesh. But she ignored it. She had to!

She saw the open door; she saw the iron bar – her only hope.

She reached for it, stretched her fingers as far as they would go…

The snake demon was moving again, picking himself up. He saw the bar, read her intent and leapt for it, releasing his hold on her leg to make the jump. His clawed hands made a mad attempt at grasping the iron bar, sending it rolling across the stone floor. His scream of frustration reverberated painfully in Lady's ears.

Exhausted, unsure how much longer she could continue the brawl, Lady grabbed hold of the snake's whip-lashing tail and tugged him backwards. He landed on his stomach, slid along the floor and gave her enough room to jump if she so wished.

She did.

Suddenly she was through the open door, reaching for the iron bar. She could hear the snake picking itself up, leaping for her. She turned, just in time. The iron bar whistled through the air and caught Nyoka a glancing blow across the head.

The snake slumped to one side, looked dazed.

The iron bar was heavier than Lady had thought. Her grip loosened and she was forced to rest it against the ground, her injured arm shaking, her wounds burning. Now that the adrenaline was leaving her she had begun to feel fatigued and dizzy. The pain in her arm was throbbing, sending shakes through her entire being. But she had to fight. She had to survive. She had to ignore it for just a moment later.

With a thunderous cry of rage, Lady raised the iron bar and brought it with crushing force on the snake's skull, split it like an egg.

Nyoka's body twitched in its death throes but she didn't stay long enough to watch him turn to dust. She was out of the door and down the corridor, desperate to put as much distance as she could between herself and that cell.


	10. Risk

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry.

AN: Well I was wrong! There are people out there who like the pairing! You make me happy! Thank you so much for reviewing. And here is the next chapter for you. This chapter is mainly playing on Lady's confusion and of course, increasing the relationship between her and Dante.

Eric Draven201 - Thank you so much. I'm glad you like the way I write their characters, to me, that is the most important part of a fanfic, sticking true to personalities. It's very hard though so I'm glad I'm doing something right!!

Devil Rebel - Thank you for your comment!

Ruthie - It is a little disheartening when the reviews don't come, but in all honesty it was my own fault. I started this story about two years ago so it's no wonder people have gone. And I know what you mean. I searched through pretty much all the romance genre and found hardly any LadyxDante. It's sad but it was the reason why I decided to continue with mine. Thank you for your comment!

Neverwinter - Thank you for your comment! Glad to meet a fellow LadyxDante fan!

Phant0m - Thank you for your comment! It's really nice to see what people think of my writing, critique or none. I certainly won't make you wait another month for the chapter - I have no excuse since it was already written!

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CHAPTER 10 – RISK

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Her first desire was to find Dante. Nothing mattered beyond that. If she found him then everything would be okay. He'd know the where to go, he'd be able to show her the way and she could walk on her own two feet. So, yes, she'd be relying on him to a degree, but he wouldn't be carrying her. No, she'd walk by herself, hold her head up high.

Pride was all she had left to hang on to.

But, thinking about it, was her pride also the thing holding her back? Her pride that kept her from the only person she could get close to. The pride that kept her from crying, the pride that kept her walking when she should be resting.

She glanced down at her bloodied shirt. The pain was almost unbearable. The three red streaks on her neck had been a graze, but it had torn into the collar of her shirt, left it bloodied and mangled. The wound on her stomach was still covered by the sticky remains of her crimson shirt; she dared not move the material to check the extent of the damage. Her leg was grazed from the snake demon's tail but she barely noticed that over the pain of the other injuries.

_I have to find him._ Lady thought to herself as she fled down the staircase. _We'll get out of here and then…then I'll head back to my place. I can deal with these wounds myself. I'll never have to see him again. Hide. Yes that's the brave thing to do isn't it? Hide from the one thing you care about. That'll make life simply wonderful. You can pretend all you like Mary but the moment you leave him you'll be thinking about him. You can run as far as you want but he'll always be there in your mind, in your heart, especially now that you let him kiss you and touch you…_ She halted her thoughts, cut them in two with a vicious mental slap.

She'd get over him. She'd have to.

She paused by the first of the many doors in the tower and leaned in to listen. No sound came from inside. It was empty and silence was not often in Dante's presence.

She continued.

_He might be the only one who could ever understand what I've been through. He knows who I am, at least, he knows all that he's gathered from the snippets of information I give him. And he kissed me. Not the other way around. That has to mean something doesn't it? He made the first move. Or is it just because I'm the only girl who…no that's a lie, I did fall for his charms; I just better controlled myself than most women. Maybe he's just using me for a challenge. He's a hopeless flirt, he's untameable. He could never be mine, not even if he wanted me to have him. He's too free spirited, too brash and…and…that doesn't change how I feel about him. Besides, technically he's already gotten from me what he's gotten from every other woman he's been with._

She paused at another door, pressed her ear to its wooden surface. Nothing again. Was there even anything behind these doors? And then, from behind her came angry cries of demons. Snake demons. She shuddered at hearing them and they urged her onwards. They could teleport. They could be anywhere! She couldn't fight anymore, she could barely even stand!

And then from somewhere further down the stairs she heard the ringing of gunshots. Dante! It had to be him! She pushed off from the door and ran as fast as she dared. She almost fell, regained her balance just in time, flung herself around the next curve of the staircase. She filled her lungs with air, prepared to call his name, and then suddenly something was knocking into her, sending her sprawling across the stairs.

The breath was knocked from her lungs; pain filled every line of her face. She clutched her bloodied stomach and tried her best to force the pain away.

"Lady?"

She looked up, wanted suddenly to cry with relief.

"Dante!" She glanced past him, down the corridor where she could hear the demons gaining on them. "How many are there?"

"Too many." He replied with a devilish smirk. He grabbed her arm, helped her to her feet. "Can you stand?"

"You'd better hope so."

"You are Lady aren't you?"

"Are you mad?"

"Well I just had another version of you declaring her love for me, that's all." He laughed and turned her on the spot before she could say anything. "Up!" He ordered and gave her an encouraging push. Then, together they ascended the stairs.

"There are more of them up there and I have no weapons."

He threw her a pistol. Ebony. "You can borrow one of mine; just don't lose it, okay?"

"Oh, so it's alright for you to lose my weapons?" She arched a brow.

"Argue with me later, okay?" He smiled and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Five snake demons were ready to greet them, all springing at once. Their fangs were revealed, claws extended, eyes flashing with their evil intent. Dante drew his sword, caught one across the gut and another through the chest. With the demon still impaled on the sword he lunged at the next, using its brethren's body against it. Together, the snakes went up in dust.

Lady put a bullet expertly through the skulls of the remaining demons and felt a satisfying shiver run up her spine.

"What do you plan to do once we reach the top?" She called after him as they continued upwards.

"I'll decide when we get there if that's okay with you."

She wanted to refuse him but decided that now wasn't the time. She knew Dante. He'd come up with something. He had the devil's luck.

They reached the chamber where Lady had been kept imprisoned and took a moment to glance at the child's body. She looked peaceful, almost as if she were sleeping. Her suffering was over. Lady looked up at Dante, saw the regret in his eyes and wondered why.

She reached her hand to him, but he moved, carried on walking.

"They'll catch up fast." She reminded him gently.

"I know, I know." He crossed the room, glanced out of the window. "Come and stand over here." He motioned her with a hand and she went to join him, peering out at the horrible landscape. The land was dead and charred; the sky was red and oozing above them. The only way out was the long pathway that Dante had taken. The only way down…was a jump.

She shrank back, not liking the thoughts coming to mind. She was physically strong, but she was still only human.

"Dante…"

He smiled at her.

She shook her head, determined not to be dragged into his foolishness.

As if reading her mind he reached out and pulled her back to the window ledge. "Look, if we stay here we die. If we jump we live. Trust me." He took Ebony back from her, replaced it to its holster.

And she did trust him, she truly did. She gave a small nod, glanced back over her shoulder. Glowing snake eyes appeared in the doorway and she knew within seconds they'd be pouncing for them. She gave Dante a shove and looked at him with a silent message in her eyes; 'just do what you have to do.' And suddenly he was pulling himself up onto the window ledge and leaning back to grab her.

"Wait." Lady's eyes had fixed on something. Something dear and valuable, something she would be willing to risk her life for. She remembered Dante's advice. Let go. Let go. But she couldn't. She wasn't ready yet. The snake had brought it with him and now it lay discarded against the wall, hidden in shadow except where the ugly red skylight caught at it.

"Kalina Ann!" She tore across the hall, slid down onto her side and grabbed at the heavy bazooka, hugging it to her chest. Complete again.

The snakes sprang.

Lady fired.

The wall of the chamber gave in; suddenly the room was crumbling, falling apart. She scrambled to her feet, dragging the bazooka along behind her.

"Hurry up!"

She turned, backed up towards Dante and the window, watching for any demon that might make it past the rain of rubble. Some did, leaping expertly between the wreckage, fixing their greedy, lusty eyes on her.

Strong arms lifted her up, encircled her, pulled her up against a firm chest. She raised Kalina Ann, the breath trembling in her lungs. She saw the demons; their grotesque visages looming closer, jaws gaping.

"Fire." Dante's whisper jerked her into action. She pulled the trigger, the kick of the gun sending them both hurtling from the window, away from the tower, the explosion and the snakes…

And then the world was spinning, turning and turning at such a speed she could hardly tell sky from land. She closed her eyes but that only made it worse, she opened them again and saw the ground rushing to meet them. She wanted to scream but was too proud to put the thought into action. She held on tightly to her weapon, not ever wanting to let go of it ever again.

His landing wasn't as graceful as it would have been if he had jumped alone. He landed heavily, tipped off-balance by the extra weight. He loosened his hold on her and Lady slipped gratefully to the ground. The landing jarred her wounds, had her wincing in pain.

"Get up. We can't stay here." He offered his hand to her.

She hesitated, made a struggled attempt to get to her own feet.

Dante, seemingly impatient, reached down and lifted her forcefully to her feet, setting her firmly on the ground. He was offering his help and dammit she would accept it!

"What happened Dante?" Lady asked, lagging slightly behind. 'How did you get here?"

"The kid brought me here, showed me the way to her 'Master'."

"The shape shifter?"

"Yeah. He'd taken your form. I thought he was you at first. But he only looked like you, he didn't talk like you." He laughed, obviously highly amused.

Lady felt her face warm up with embarrassment. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The fake Lady was much nicer to me than the real one." He grinned.

She tightened her hand into a fist, felt ready to crack him one across the skull.

"The fake Lady said she loved me." He teased in his sing-song voice.

Lady didn't respond. She felt too embarrassed to answer him. If she denied it she'd be making a fool of herself and if she agreed, well…she wouldn't even think about that. Instead she slowed her pace, lagged further behind him.

He slowed his pace to join her. "Why are you afraid of me?"

Lady wasn't going to answer, but she could feel his eyes boring into her, feel him waiting for an answer. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the right words. So instead she looked up at him, pleading silently with him to just let it go. She didn't feel comfortable explaining. Telling him would mean letting him closer, letting him see further into her heart.

"I'm not afraid _of_ you Dante." She whispered finally. "I'm…I'm afraid of los—"

Without warning their landscape shifted and they were back in the dismal streets of the city. The endless, charred plains were gone. The tower replaced by city houses. The sky was grey and drizzle put heavy moisture into the air. They were home.

"Oh isn't it wonderful to be back." She muttered.

"Hey, don't change the subject."

"Just drop it. I'm tired, hurting and I just want to sleep."

"What happened to you anyway?" He seemed to visibly notice her injuries for the first time, though in truth he had spotted them the instant he had laid eyes on her. It was hard not to. She looked a bloodied mess. There were dark rings beneath her eyes. Her hair looked like it needed a good grooming. Her clothes were tattered and torn. She looked physically and mentally exhausted. He'd never seen her looking so tired or so wounded. She'd survived her brawl alright, but only just.

"When the kid died, one of the snakes went berserk."

"Remind me not to get into a punch up with you."

"I had some help."

"Oh?"

"An iron bar. Did the job nicely."

"That was the best you could find?"

"Improvisation, right?"

He smiled, secretly overjoyed that his faith in her had been justified. He had known that she would be able to get herself out of that situation, weapon or no weapon. She was wounded but she was far from defeated.

The rain increased in strength, hissed against their unprotected heads, put a shine into their clothes. Dante, stepping closer to Lady, draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, tucking her against his side. He was half expecting her to pull away, half hoping that she would so he could see that cute blush on her face.

But she didn't.

"It's been a long day." She replied wearily.

"A long few days." Dante corrected. "What d'yah say. Wanna crash at my place? The pizza's on me." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "And next week, I'll crash at your place."

She looked at him. Just looked at him. He was curious about her, that much was clear. He was desperate to unlock her secrets, find out where she lived, what she did when she wasn't fighting demons. Sad really that her secrets were pitiful, that the answers weren't exciting or mysterious. She lived in a dusty old flat and all she ever did when she wasn't fighting, was think about fighting.

Well, she thought about other things, other people. But thinking about it, her whole life had been about revenge, about her anger. She'd not been able to release it in any other way than killing demons. In hating demons.

Again guilt suffused her but as she continued to look at him she realised something else. No demon would have saved her. No demon would have kissed her. No demon would invite her back to his house and share his pizza with her. Dante was not a demon. Dante was something else entirely.

That was why she loved him.

Maybe it was worth taking a risk.

"Hey Lady, you alright?"

Or not.

"Fine." She replied, putting on her old tone. "Let's head to your place. It's closer anyway."

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a mock salute with his free hand and hurried her on.

--

To be continued...


	11. Date

A/N

Okay! After this chapter there's only one more to go! Thanks for reading and thanks to those who reviewed! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry.

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KuteInsanity: Your review made me sooo happy. I'm really glad you enjoyed reading it. I had a great fun writing it, even though it took a good couple of years to get this far. I agree with you totally with the battle. Battle / fight scenes are something I struggle with. I'm actually considering doing another fanfiction that concentrates on battling so that I can get some practice. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Thanks again!

xxxps: Thank you so much! I'm really happy that you're enjoying it so far.

ShadesOfBlood: Thank you for your review. It makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying this story.

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CHAPTER 11 – DATE

--

Even now she still couldn't understand how he'd managed to talk her into this.

Lady, still suffering from her wounds but looking far more rested than she had been, led her devil companion through the backstreets of the winding, labyrinth of a city. This city had been her home since her birth, though she had moved from spot to spot during her relatively short life. In fact, Lady had only recently moved in before the events at Temen-ni-gru erupted and she ended up tying paths with Dante.

She wasn't the type to settle. She was restless as the wind, stirring from place to place, never wanting to stop too long. Never wanting to grow attached to anything. But, for once, she had lingered in this place for longer than normal. She knew why, though she hated to admit it. It was because of him. Because she was curious about him, because…well, he was her…friend. Though she'd never tell him that of course.

The streets had visibly begun to change now. They had passed through estates of rather fine looking houses – fine in that they weren't falling apart. Now they were edging between narrow alleyways, passing rows and rows of cramped, narrow houses. Each of them looked as gloomy as the first; each of them looked like they were in desperate need of some attention.

In fact, as Dante looked around him, he began to realise that his moth-eaten old building could be a palace compared to these run-down little houses. He cast a glance to Lady but she wasn't looking his way.

Dante had always wondered what sort of place Lady called home. He had imagined it to be a clean little place, tucked away in a secret little alleyway that only those who knew where it was could find it. He supposed, thinking about it, she couldn't have lived in a very grand place. She was hardly ever at home and she seemed to be at his place more than at her own.

They turned down yet another alleyway which opened up into a street about ten metres along. The street was small, square in shape and full of little apartment buildings only four storeys high. Most of them looked uninhabitable and the ones that were didn't look much better.

Dante almost expected to walk past them and was thus surprised when Lady began walking across one of the overgrown gardens towards one of the blocks. She took a moment to find her key and turned it in the lock, pushing the heavy old door open. Then it was a short climb up to the second floor.

The floorboards were dusty. They left prints where they walked.

"Home sweet home." Lady mumbled, unlocking a door whose number was too faded to read.

The room, though simple, was relatively clean. Stacked in boxes along the wall were weapons and ammunition. A wardrobe, whose door had been broken off, also hid various weapons amongst the clothes hangers. There was a little bed shoved far back away from the lone window and a doorway that led into the smallest bathroom Dante had ever seen. There were no signs that a woman lived here. Nothing pink, nothing frilly or cute. It was a cold room, void of anything personal. It was more like a shed for her weapons than a home for herself.

Scattered on the floor were various oily motorbike parts. So, was her bike broken? Was that why he hadn't seen her on it recently?

"Don't look at it like that." Lady scorned. "It's suitable for my way of life, okay?"

"Yeah, very…functional." His eyes danced across the room, seeking out a CD player, a fridge, anything that might link the house to some normality.

"Look, you wanted to come here. Just, make yourself at home and don't tread on anything." She gestured vaguely towards the motorbike parts and moved over to the sink, setting Kalina Ann on the bed as she went.

"Problems with your ride, eh?" He moved over to the bed, slumped down on it next to the bazooka.

"She won't start."

"Well I'm no mechanic."

"I wasn't asking for your advice."

"Hey, if I'm crashing at your place where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Where do people usually sleep?"

Dante looked confused, glanced at the small bed, then looked up. The math just didn't work out. Was she really implying that they'd share? A devilish smirk spread its way across his face.

"Don't you dare get any ideas." She had turned to look at him, spotted his expression. "I'm not going to be sleeping."

"Oh?"

"Again with the thoughts!" Lady replied. "I'm working on the bike, okay?" Not you, she thought grimly to herself. The memory of their last 'encounter' knocked her slightly off balance. She twisted the tap, watched water gush down into the basin, wishing it would wash the memories of that night away.

"So, it didn't mean anything to you then?" Dante asked.

She didn't dare turn to look at him. Afraid of looking into his eyes, afraid that she might admit the truth. Afraid of admitting that the memory was a wonderful one, that she had been treasuring it secretly ever since. It was sad, really, but she fully expected it to be the one and only time.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She turned off the tap, shook her hands and then moved over to rummage through the wardrobe.

"We could go out instead."

"Huh?"

"Tonight. We could go out. There must be something you do in your spare time."

Lady fidgeted, felt embarrassed. She knew what Dante did in his spare time. He went to clubs and bars, he got himself drunk, he flirted with women…

The only time she had been to a bar was when she was meeting someone for a job or if one of her targets had taken a fancy to hiding in one of them. She never went to socialise, to drink, to dance, to chat…or to flirt. They were the centre of her job but that was all. A feeling of shame swamped her, left her feeling miserable. Would he be disappointed when he discovered the truth? Would he go off her? What the hell? Who was she kidding? Dante didn't think of her as girlfriend material. He'd never seemed the type to want a serious relationship. Like with her, it just wasn't possible. Their way of life was too demanding, too dangerous…

Obviously reading her facial expressions, which in her shame she had forgotten to hide, Dante stood and tugged her round to face him. "Okay, I get it. No worries then, leave it to me. I'm an expert at finding good places to hang."

"What about the bike?"

"That can wait."

"Why are you--?" She hesitated, tugged away from him and pulled out some fresh clothes from amongst the weapons in the wardrobe.

"Why am I what?" Dante followed up. "Why am I trying to get you to do something you'd rather not do?"

No answer.

"Because it'll be good for you. It's not healthy to be cooped up alone with nothing but the thought of when your next job will be." He ruffled her hair playfully. "What's the point of living if you don't have any fun, right?"

"Life isn't fun though, is it?"

"Only if you make it that way. I mean I'm a prime example right? My life has always been screwed up. I never really thought highly of myself, never really felt that I belonged but hey, I still made the time to have some fun."

"Fighting demons is the only thing that brought me any sense of happiness."

"No, no you're missing the point. Okay, you can enjoy your job but your job shouldn't rule your life."

Lady eyed him, angry that he had a point. Angry that he was right.

"Okay, I'll make a deal. If you enjoy yourself tonight you have to give me something in return."

"What type of 'something'?" She eyed him suspicious, not liking that sneaky grin on his face.

He smirked. "How about a kiss?"

She tensed up, her whole body going as rigid as stone. Her bi-coloured eyes flared, but mostly with embarrassment. She remembered their kiss beneath the stars, the warmth of his arms around her, the feel of his hair running between her fingers. Oh, she would do anything to kiss him again, anything. Her face flushed from the memory and from the desire. She looked up at him, hovering between replies.

He obviously saw her indecision. "Alright, it's settled then." He took the decision out of her hands. And if he was going to be honest with himself, the thought of kissing her again excited him. The thought of where that kiss might lead excited him even more.

He just hoped he could whittle away at her, make her realise that he wasn't just playing silly games and that he did genuinely care about her.

'Well there's no need to worry. I don't expect it'll be much fun hanging with a woman-chasing drunk." She tried for it to sound genuine but it ended up with a teasing tone.

Lady stole away from the conversation then, slipping into the bathroom to get washed and dressed. She looked more herself when she came back into the main room. Dressed in fresh clothes that had a slightly metallic scent to them. She wore a red velvet jacket over a shirt that was frilled halfway down the front and a pair of jet black jeans that disappeared into red boots.

Dante, who had returned to the bed whilst she 'freshened up' had found, much to his surprise, one remaining token from Lady's past. It had been tucked between the pillow and the wall and looked terribly ragged but as he held it in his hand he realised that this was another one of those sentimental possessions, though this one was much nicer than Kalina Ann. It was a teddy bear. It was floppy now, from the lack of stuffing in its tummy. One eye was hanging from its head and its fur was faded and worn. It truly had been a well-loved toy. He turned it over, saw the tag hanging from one of it's feet. Saw a name scrawled there in black, faded ink.

Mary.

He almost dropped it when Lady's shrill voice filled the room. Busted.

He turned his head back to look at her, peering innocently through the bangs of his platinum hair.

"Why are you going through my things?"

"I wasn't…I mean, I didn't mean to." He hid the bear behind his back.

It was Lady's wounds alone that kept her from lunging at him and throttling his lying ass all the way to the moon and back. The scratches on her neck were still red and sore but they were scabbed over and healing relatively nicely. The ones on her stomach, however, had been deeper and were still extremely painful when she moved suddenly. They were currently bandaged up tightly to keep them from ripping open and bleeding all over her clothes.

"What have you got?"

Dante dropped the bear behind him and revealed his empty hands to her. "Nothing, see?"

She eyed him suspiciously and then strode past to peer out of the window.

Dante expertly shoved the bear back into its rightful place and moved to join her. "What're you looking for?"

"Nothing in particular. I just like to see if there's anything going on."

A man sat reading a newspaper on a wooden bench. His hat was tipped forwards to shade his face. But he was the only one around. Most people stayed in their houses and only left them to get essential shopping out of the way. It wasn't worth opening yourself up to thieves or muggers who lived and thrived in rundown areas like this.

"So what now?" Dante asked, bored.

Lady sighed. "There's a CD player somewhere in that trunk. If it works, you can listen to that. Just keep out of my way for a bit, okay?"

Dante didn't argue, besides, he had an evening to plot.

--

"How far is it?"

"Not too far."

They walked side by side, Lady relying solely on Dante's navigational skills as he wound through alley after alley. She was nervous. Nervous of where they would end up and nervous of the outcome. She had a feeling this was some sort of plot to trap her, to get her to confess all. Did he really think that one date – no not date, this wasn't a date!! Did he really think that one _evening_ at a bar would be enough to convince her that he was the right man for her? Did he really think she was so easy?

_Well, you sure were easy that night when he kissed you._ She thought to herself miserably._ One kiss under the stars and he had you in his bed. He knows you want him and he's playing on it. He wants to tease you, force you to admit that you have feelings for him. He wants to have power over you. And dammit, I want him to have that power! This is driving me insane!!_

And her thoughts trailed along that same path until they reached the door to this wonderful bar that he was hoping would sweep her off her feet.

"Hey there, Mac." Dante paused, moved to talk to the bouncer standing guard at the door. He was a huge man, built like a war horse. But his smile was friendly and he gave Dante a strong clap across his back.

"Haven't seen you around here in a while. Busy?"

"That's one word to describe it."

"She with you? Not like you to walk in with a lady, eh?" The bouncer laughed.

Lady felt herself bristle with jealousy, almost wanted to turn around and go home. In fact she was about to turn on her heels when the door to the club was opened and Dante ushered her in.

The music was loud. The evening had only just begun and people already looked ready to collapse. Lights muddled her head, flashed in her eyes. She reached forward, grasped Dante's coat and let him guide her through the crowds.

"What are you drinking?" He called over the rabble.

"Water." She called back. "Just water."

"What's that? Vodka? Really? Okay, vodka coming up." She saw him lean over the bar, shouting his order so the waitress could hear. Lady, peeved that he'd totally ignored her request, forced herself through the crowds to stand beside him.

The waitress was already eyeing him up, fluttering over him like a moth desperate to reach the candlelight. She giggled at something Dante said then scurried off to get the drinks.

"Already found yourself a target I see." Lady replied bitterly, shoving her elbow against his arm.

She was angry at him. Angry because he was playing silly games with her heart. Angry with him for flirting with another woman. Angry at him for making her feel so confused.

"There's no harm in a bit of innocent flirtation." He grinned.

"You didn't really order me vodka, did you?" She forced herself to calm down, let the tension in her balled fists fade away.

"That's what you asked for, wasn't it?"

"No it wasn't. I ordered water, just a plain old water. Why don't you lis--?"

"--Hey, if you're out partying with me there is no way that I'm going to let you drink water all night. How can you expect to have fun when you're sober?"

"Being drunk isn't an instant way of having a good time."

"But it sure does help." Dante laughed.

"Here are your drinks, sir." The waitress returned, eyed Lady with what could only be a jealous look. Lady, feeling suddenly possessive, leaned closer, lifted her drink and eyed it. Oh well, what harm could it do?

"Bottoms up."

Down in one.

The taste was vile. Lady had never been much of a drinker. Yes she tended to have a beer or two when things got extremely depressing, but spirits had never been her thing. Besides that she didn't have much of a head for drinking. She wanted to gag, but saw Dante looking at her; shocked. So she placed the glass back on the bar and eyed him expectantly.

"Don't you think you should pace yourself? You're going to cost me a fortune otherwise."

She smirked at him, rising to this new challenge. "You encouraged it. You should have been more prepared."

Dante, sighing, leaned over to the waitress. "Another one for the Lady."

Ugh, Lady hoped she wasn't going to end up comatose by the end of the night. Now that _would_ be embarrassing.

Three drinks later and Lady was almost completely wasted. She was slumped across the bar, watching Dante through bleary eyes. He was finishing his drink, wiping the foam from his mouth. She smiled, unknowingly. He was so beautiful. Everything about him was delicate and sensual. She wanted to reach up, cradle his face in her hands, place kisses on his face, his lips.

Now she knew she was drunk.

Dante as deep in conversation with her, though she wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Something about the best way to win a drinking game. She interrupted him with a glare.

"You don't look so good." He teased.

Lady, groaning as she sat up, watched the room spinning slightly. She'd drunk too much, far too much, but as far as she was aware the evening had only just begun. How on earth was she going to survive the night?

"How you feeling?"

"Ugh…"

"Didn't I tell you that you should have paced yourself? Are you just trying to get yourself plastered so you can worm your way out of our deal?"

"Don't be stupid. I didn't do it on purpose." Her words sounded slurred. She rose to stand, supporting herself on the bar. The music that had been booming in her ears had now quietened, become slower. The DJ called out across the microphone.

"This one's for all the loved up honnies out there."

Dante, smirking mischievously, rose from his seat, held out a hand to her. "That's us."

"What is?"

"Nothing, follow me."

"Dante I can barely stand, let alone dance. If you start swinging me about you're going to regret it."

"This isn't swinging music. Come on." He caught her hand, led her away from the bar and into the mass of people who were slowing their dances, partnering up, some with loved ones others with complete strangers. Dante had been waiting for this song, this moment. He'd known it was coming, it always did. From this song came love, came relationships – unexpected but good none-the-less. It was a break in the frenzy, the calm before the storm.

"Dante I really don't think this is a good idea."

But he wasn't listening. He turned her to face him and pulled her up against him. Her head sank gratefully against his chest, her eyes closed and she focused on the rhythm of his beating heart. It lulled her, relaxed her and suddenly he was moving, drawing her with him. She was compelled to follow, copying his movements without much thought. The music had taken her, captivated her and she was turning with him, allowing him to lead her across the dance floor.

His hands settled on her hips, span her gently. She raised her head, looked up at him. The lights glinted spectacular colours in his eyes. Her heart lifted, flopped. She felt brave, as if she could tell him anything, as if she could pour out her heart. She knew deep down that it was the alcohol giving her this release. Knew that come morning she'd remember and be filled with shame at so easily letting go of her control. She had always hidden her heart, from everyone, but he was worming his way into it so easily and she couldn't stop him.

Tears threatened to fill her eyes, born from her confusion and clashing thoughts. She just wished she knew the answer. She wished she knew what the right thing to do would be.

He span her again, slowly, pulled her close, fixed her with a loving embrace. Her heart swelled in her chest, she looked up at him again. He was looking down at her, his eyes gentle. She opened her mouth, tried to speak the words that her pride had been denying her to say all this time.

"Dante…"

And then the music stopped and the moment was gone. The next tune came on, livelier, bouncier. Lady, frustrated to the point that she was ready to cry, tugged away from him and staggered back to the bar, glad of its support.

Had the end of the song saved her from embarrassment or granted yet further days of torment? And which was better? To live with this unrequited love or to continue on knowing that the one she loved was nothing but a teasing bastard.

She didn't catch Dante's disappointed face, didn't bother to look back as she slumped onto the stool and sprawled her head against the cool wood of the bar. It really had gotten impossibly hot in here. Then after a few minutes she realised that Dante hadn't come back. She forced herself to sit up, glanced around. She spotted him still amongst the crowd being lulled back to the dance floor by another woman. Lady scowled, bristled. Who did this woman think she was, roughing in on her man? Gritting her teeth she stood, eyes flashing. Now she had the perfect victim to take all her anger out on and Dante could relax knowing that it wasn't going to be him this time.

"Seriously. Are you deaf or something?"

She could hear his voice yelling above the music as she drew nearer.

"Come on handsome, just one dance." The woman had hold of his hand, was stroking it softly beneath her fingertips.

"Look I've got somewhere to be."

"Oh? Can I come too?"

"I don't think so."

"Dante, what is going on?" Lady intervened.

The woman glanced between Lady and Dante, eyeing them up jealously. "Keep your nose out of this love; it's none of your business."

"Talk to me like that again and I'll break your nose." Lady hissed, rounding on the young woman.

"Woah, woah, ladies." Now it was Dante's turn to intervene. "Look, you're nice and all, but really my hands are full enough with her as it is." He pointed towards Lady.

"Her? You have got to be joking!" The woman, with her hands on her hips, turned to meet Lady's angry scowl. "You like them roughed up? I bet her face isn't the only part of her that's scarred." Her made-up eyes slipped down to look at the healing wounds on Lady's neck. "You may be handsome, but your taste in women is poor."

Lady saw red. Like lightning she lashed forwards, ignoring the pain in her stomach that exploded with the sudden movement. Her fist came forwards, intent on breaking the tart's nose.

Dante caught her wrist, pulled her back behind him. "Say another word and I won't intervene." Dante warned the woman. "So unless you want a black eye, go find yourself someone else to bed."

The woman hesitated, then with a huff she turned up her nose and slipped back through the crowds.

"She sure was determined." He smirked. "Can't say I blame her though."

Lady, still seething, barely even heard him.

He shook her shoulder gently. "Feeling better?"

"Dandy." Lady muttered, coming back to reality. "Come on, let's go."

"What? Why?"

"I'm tired." And in pain, though she didn't mention that. She shoved her way through the crowds and pushed the front door open; grateful for the cold air that hit her head on. The bouncer turned, gave her a smile, but she strode past him and out into the street.

Dante chased after her.

"What have you done now?" The bouncer asked.

"I'm telling yah Mac, it's my manly good looks. They always land me into trouble."

"Sure, sure." Mac laughed. "Best get after her then. G'luck"

--

To be continued...

So the next chapter will be the last. Sad but true. A story has to end somewhere!


	12. Drunken Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry

AN: Well here it is folks, the last chapter. I hope this last chapter sums up everything nicely. It took a few years to get here but I hope it was worth it. I had a lot of fun writing this and I noticed today that this has had over 10000 hits, which is...well quite breath taking if I'm going to be perfectly honest.

I have started work on another fic which should be up in a day or two so be on the look out for that. It's probably going to be called: "The Land Between Heaven and Hell". This is going to be more focused on action though I'll probably throw in a little LadyxDante just for good measure - though it won't be the focus of the story.

Anyways, onto the reviewers and their comments!

Devil Rebel: You can't rush a stubborn woman! Thanks for your review, it's very much appreciated.

KuteInsanity: I just noticed you updated your fic so I'm uploading this and then I'm going to read it. Action scenes are hard! Especially with Dante since he's so supercool and superfast and superstrong. It's hard to make him fight with anyone who can be a superior! Anyways, I'm really glad you like how I've got their characters. Lady is easy to write because I was quite a lot like her when I was at school, never wanting to cry, never showing any hurt and then going home and having a good sob. Dante is a little harder, I have to go over and over his dialogue and try and picture him saying it. If I can't imagine him saying it that way then I go back and rewrite. He's hard because...well...I don't know anyone with a personality like him!! I do hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. This one wrote easily, I just wish every chapter went as smoothly as this one did! Thanks for your review!

Neverwinter: I will be writing another story. It'll be mainly an action story but I'll try to get some LadyxDante parts in it too. I may also write a few one shots if I ever get the time.

xxxps: Thank you for your review! I figured it was better to end it sooner rather than dragging it out and facing the possibility of it never ending. But I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope this chapter will be enjoyable for you to read too.

Beautiful Savage: Thanks for your review!

jackpotdante: I'm sorry it ended so soon but I will be writing more stories so it's not the end in that way. Also, as for the M rating, I was originally going to attempt it, but I don't really feel that at this point I could do the rating justice. Sorry!! Thanks for your review!!

Eric Draven201: Thanks for your review! Here is the more that you wanted!

BitterTimesOfToday: I'm really glad you like my story. I came to the conclusion that Lady isn't the type to blurt out "I love you" too, even if Dante knew she did, so hopefully this chapter is going to keep them in character. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Now...onto the story!

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CHAPTER 12 – DRUNKEN CONFESSIONS

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He caught up with her easily enough. She was walking slowly, with uneven, staggered steps. The fresh air had only added to her 'drunken' state and she had one arm around her middle, attempting to ease the pain from her wounds.

"Hey Lady." He slowed to match her step, put a stabilising arm around her.

She shrugged it off, span to face him and almost lost her balance. Quick as lightning, he kept her from falling with an extended arm.

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to show up." She hissed through her teeth.

"What's wrong?"

"This…this whole thing." She gestured with her arms. "A mess."

"I don't understand."

"That's just it, isn't it?" Her body shook and after a moment she sank to the ground. He moved to join her on the kerb, waiting patiently for her to continue. He was patient when he put his mind to it and he had a feeling that in this state Lady might let loose some feelings that she'd been keeping hidden for a long time. He had to make sure he respected her boundaries, especially if that was the case.

"I'm not meant to do normal things. My purpose is to fight, to bring some sort of justice in this screwed up world." She hissed. "You see the way people look at me. How often do you see a woman with scars? They look down at me; think I'm less of a person because of them." She shook her head. "I think it's best you just left me alone."

"Is that what you really think? Don't let the words of some stupid tart get to you. You know as well as I do that it's what's on the inside that counts."

"Don't make me laugh. I've seen the kind of women that you flirt with."

"Are you kidding me? Come on Lady, it's harmless fun. Women like to be told they're pretty, and yeah, okay, I could try and find out more about them, but in all honesty I don't really care about some random girl in a bar. All they are is a pretty face, what's the fun in that, huh? It's no challenge for someone like me."

She wanted to hit him and he must have sensed it because his voice gained a serious edge.

"Besides, I don't think your scars are anything to be ashamed of. They prove you're a fighter, a survivor. If anything, they enhance your fiery spirit." He wanted to say more but wasn't sure how. Yes, he was full of smart-ass comments and teases and innuendoes, but as far as romance went, his vocabulary was poor.

She didn't say anything for a long time and Dante counted the minutes as they ticked by on the face of the distant clock tower. Then finally she broke the silence:

"No one understands." She was distraught, the emotion only heightened by the alcohol coursing through her.

Dante wondered whether this was a prompt for him to speak, chose to do so anyway. "It's because you never let anyone in. Look at us. We've known each other for a while now but I only just saw where you live today."

"I…I like to hide." Lady admitted, momentarily burying her face in her hands.

"I've noticed."

"My life has taught me one thing. Not to trust anyone. To rely on my own skills and instincts. It's how I stayed alive all this time."

"And how you stayed miserable too. What are you afraid of, Lady?"

"Everyone I care about…" She paused, gulped back the emotion that had left her throat feeling thick. "They die."

_So that's it,_ Dante thought, _she's afraid of losing people. Afraid of losing me too, maybe. "_Die or not." He continued aloud "They still had a good effect on you. They still live in your memories. You had good times with them, right? Don't let the good memories end with them. Don't let bad experience keep you from smiling."

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Look, I can't promise that I'll be around forever, but I have no intention of dying anytime soon."

She smiled, sadly. Could he even die? She'd seen him take wounds that would kill a mortal. She'd seen his skin heal, seen bullets through his skull, seen swords stabbed into his body. Yet he was still here. But that wasn't what she was afraid of. To her, Dante was eternal. He'd be around long after she was dead and buried. No, she was afraid that he'd leave her, break her heart.

"Nothing good in this world lasts. I can keep fighting but in the end there's only me against an endless horde of demons."

"Not just you." Dante reminded. "Listen, I just want you to know that I understand. I know what it's like to lose people you love. To feel that you don't fit in. To self loathe, to hate and feel so angry that you could burst. We're the same, you and I. It's why, even though you drive me bloody crazy, that I can call you a friend."

She smiled through the tears. "So I've been wrong about you then."

"Wrong?"

"You do have a sensitive side. Here I was thinking you were nothing but a bumbling idiot."

"Ouch." He put an arm around her, squeezed her tightly. "There's no need for insults."

"Yes there are. Come on, let's go home."

"Already? Ah come on now, I won't get my kiss unless you have a good time, will I?"

"You're such a pervert."

"And that's totally what you love about me, right babe?"

She boxed him lightly across the jaw.

"Okay, okay let's get you home."

He walked her home, an arm slung casually across her shoulders. The evening was cold and darker than most but it was not unpleasant. The stars glinted faintly above their heads, hidden briefly by wisps of cloud. The moon had apparently decided to take a break, not even a slither of it remained in the sky.

They reached her door; Lady fumbled for the key and dropped it. Both of them went down to retrieve it, fingers brushing against one another. Lady started and Dante, slightly amused at her nervousness, lifted it and turned it in the lock.

Lady mumbled a weary thanks and stepped inside. Dante followed, closing the door quietly behind them. Then they were trapped together in the darkness of her room. It was so dark he couldn't see where she had gone, couldn't figure out where she was standing. And then suddenly a lamp had been lit and it cast a dim, romantic glow across the room. The lamp flickered from a draught. The shadows danced, played across Lady's face and sparkled in her eyes. With a sigh she sat down, tugged off her boots one by one and then sat on the bed, giving a great sigh of relief.

Dante, after a moment's thought, moved to sit beside her.

"Thanks, I guess." She spoke softly.

"You really didn't have a good time, did you?"

She thought about it for a moment. "No, no, I think I did. I guess it just made me realise how much I've missed out on. How much I've still got to learn."

"About socialising?"

"I guess so."

"So you did have a good time then?" There was the beginning of a smug look on his face.

She nodded; paused, realised she'd just fallen into a trap. A trap that she'd wanted to fall into, however. _Best to get it over with, not think about it too much or you'll lose your cool. Just lean up, peck on the lips and then that's it. Right, okay, let's go._

She leaned upwards, but he obviously read her intentions and leaned away from her advances.

"What?" She frowned, irritated. 'I thought that's what you wanted?"

"It's got to be done right." He said softly, teasing.

She opened her mouth to question it, to say no. But he coiled an arm around her, pulled her back onto the bed beside him, keeping her locked in his embrace. He could hear her breath quicken, feel the nerves emanating from her. She was so innocent despite everything, so shy and unsure. He wasn't sure how else he could get her to warm up. He had tried everything, a kiss, a night of passion, saving her life. Nothing had worked, nothing had hit home. A normal man might have told her that he loved her but Dante was no normal man. Besides, just coming out and saying it seemed wrong somehow, it felt too easy. He wanted to earn her heart the hard way, not woo her with words she could hear from any man.

"If you're having second thoughts…" His eyes twinkled mischievously. "Then I'll understand."

"Is that your pathetic attempt at reverse psychology?" She pouted slightly.

"Maybe. Is it working?"

She swallowed, leaned a little closer, aware now of their compromising situation. Was he intending this kiss to go further? Was he planning a long night twined with her in this little bed? Her heart felt ready to explode, her desire throwing out all common sense. She reached up a gentle, loving hand, caressed his pale, smooth cheek. A flash of memories blurred her vision, reminded her of her thoughtless passion that now seemed so long ago.

This was not her first time with him but, but it sure felt like it.

She brushed the platinum hair from his eyes, looked into those clear blue orbs. They were such gentle eyes at times, so placid and calm and so loving. She could see the want in them, the love in them too. She realised then that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. So why couldn't she let go of her inhibitions? Why couldn't she just kiss him and let it lead to something else?

It was what they both wanted…

She leaned forwards, let her eyes fall closed. Long, dark eyelashes fell to brush against her pale cheeks, her lips pursing. She pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, felt him quiver beneath her touch. Her stomach gave an odd little churn and something in her chest grew warm. Her heart, it ached so much that she thought it would burst.

She moved to kiss him again, a teasing little kiss on the other side of his mouth. Or that was what she had intended. Instead, Dante moved his face and at the last moment, their lips touched. It was a feather of a kiss, so gentle that it might not have been a kiss at all. But it left Lady tingling all over until she was the one quivering. She reached for him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to her.

"Dante…"

The way she said his name almost drove him insane. The kisses were not enough. She was teasing him, giving him a tiny percent of what he wanted.

She moved to rest her head against his neck but he shuffled back, lifting his arms to hold her back. She looked up and their eyes met. No words were spoken but somehow they came to an understanding.

She raised her face and this time her lips crashed against his. Her hands, that had gripped his shoulders, now moved to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer. His scent filled her nose, filled her head with a giddy joy that left her breathless. His mouth parted enticingly and she allowed the kiss to deepen. And for a single, timeless moment, Lady felt that she had never been happier than she was now.

Love. Love could conquer all. And Lady had fallen in love with the one man she had always vowed to 'dislike'. She had fallen in love with a devil. But he wasn't a devil, not in the sense that most people would assume. He had a heart, he could love, and right now Lady felt as if she had never known the meaning of love until this very moment.

All through her life she had scorned others for falling in love, thinking it a weakness, a flaw. Now here she was, head over heels with a man she had come to respect – in her odd little way. Yes, if this was a weakness then she was glad she had it, glad that she had waited until now to find her heart.

She drew away reluctantly, catching her breath, stroking his face as she lost herself in his eyes. They truly were beautiful eyes.

"I thought you were planning to turn that kiss into something more." She smiled, very slightly.

"Well, that was the plan, but…"

"But what? Well, if--?"

He pressed a finger to her lips and hushed her.

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, felt the air thicken around them. She felt suddenly hot, uncomfortably hot. She shifted in his arms, stroked his hair with her fingertips.

"Dante…?"

"If you want me…I'm yours." He whispered, touching her cheek tenderly.

She knew, by the look in his eyes, that he meant it. And how could she say no when she wanted him so badly? Forget pride. Saying no would not be pride; it would be foolish and pointless. She would not lose her pride by admitting that she had opened up her heart to him – just a little.

The answer was simple: She couldn't say no, she could never say no.

He smiled. "Well?"

"It's dangerous, you know? Offering yourself to me like that."

"Oh really?"

"That's right, because if I say yes, then that's it. You're stuck with me."

"I think I can handle it."

Lady just smirked and without warning, launched herself at him. Kissing him fiercely, she pushed him back, unbuttoning his shirt even as she locked lips with him. Within seconds the garment was being pulled away from his shoulders and her hands sought the warmth of his naked flesh.

He moaned into her mouth and she smiled, secretly pleased that he was so under her control. Last time she had given into his lust – and her own for that matter. She'd closed her eyes and let herself think it a dream, let him take the lead. This time she'd show him who was boss, she'd challenge him instead of the other way around.

One hand fluttered down his chest, felt toned muscle flutter delightfully under her touch.

She released him from the passionate kiss and moved lower, kissing a gentle line down his neck. He shifted underneath her, moved his hands up to her sides and without warning, rolled her off of him.

"Your turn." He smiled devilishly. "Off with the shirt."

"Be careful." She warned him with a glare, patting her shirt over the bandage that hid her wound.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle, I promise." He pulled her close, pressed kisses against the downy skin behind her ear.

She wriggled playfully in his arms.

Then, one by one, the buttons on her shirt came loose and his lips moved to her collarbone, hands stroking pale skin usually concealed from sight. His fingers traced the lines of old scars lovingly, almost as if he were trying to memorise them.

"You wouldn't believe how long I've waited for this." He murmured. "Just…" And he hesitated.

She opened her eyes, saw hurt in his brilliant blue orbs. "Dante…?"

"Don't leave me when you wake up, okay?" In those few words, Lady deciphered more of Dante than she ever had before. That behind the macho reputation and those thoughtless grins, he was sensitive and easily hurt. All the suffering he had endured had helped him hide that hurt, kept the smile there even through painful times. She realised then, with a pang of guilt, that she had hurt him too. Probably more than she had ever realised.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I won't leave you. I promise."

Seemingly content with that, the smile returned and his lips continued their gentle caress over her shoulders. She closed her eyes, sighing with pleasure as her hands sought to remove more items of clothing that served only to get in the way.

An almighty crash brought the pair hurtling back to reality. Lady, sitting bolt upright, winced as the wound on her stomach pulled tight. Dante, blinking in confusion, raised his head, hair flopping into his eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" He muttered.

"We've got company." Lady growled, her voice was a mix of anger and disappointment.

And she was right. Company came in the form of four silent demons, each one mirroring the image of some distorted dog. They raised their heads, eyes flickering in the lamp light. Bloody maws dripped with saliva that pattered like rain against the floor. One, the larger, began to advance, growling deep in its chest.

"Where the hell did those mutts come from?" Dante was already clambering from the bed. "Bastards! Damn, they're gonna pay for interrupting." He turned to Lady, rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Wait here for me, okay? I won't be long." He winked. "Besides, you're going to need all your strength for the night I've got planned."

And with a single movement he swept Rebellion up from its place against the wall and swung it upwards in a neat arc. "Okay, single file please. I haven't got all night, don't keep me waiting."

Lady didn't even flinch as the first demon dog leapt for him. She knew how this fight would end. It would end as it had always done before. After all, he wasn't just any man.

He was Devil Hunter Dante, son of the Legendary Sparda.

He was the man she loved.

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THE END

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Thanks again, all of you, for reading this!

I do apologise for the ending and the...interruption, but I really didn't want to write anything more than 'suggestion' and I thought it would be a good, light note to end on. Reviews will be welcomed and another story is on it's way.

Thanks for all of your support! It really means a lot to me.

AA


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